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MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


BEING REPORTS OF THE'TRANSACTIONS 
OF THE 

FIRST CONGRESS OF AMERICAN ROAD BUILDERS 

HELD AT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 
JULY 4, 1909 


E. L. POWERS, Secretary, A. R. B. 
GOOD ROADS MAGAZINE 
150 NASSAU ST., NEW YORK 




, "x | C) - 21'i-vr. " 






Printed by the Press of the 
WEST PUBLISHING CO. 
St. Paul, Minn. 

(2) 


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FIRST CONGRESS 


OF 

AMERICAN ROAD 
BUILDERS 


The Delegates to the First Congress of American Road Build¬ 
ers met for the purposes of registration in the Washington Good 
Roads Building, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Grounds on the 
afternoon of Sunday, July 4th, at 3 p. m., where they were heartily 
welcomed by Mr. Samuel Hill. A large number of delegates were 
in attendance, and after a promenade through the beautiful grounds 
of the Exposition, and listening to a selection of music by Innes' 
Orchestral Band, they dispersed to meet again in business session 
on the following morning at 9 a. m. 


MONDAY, July 5th. 

A large number of delegates were present at the opening session, 
when the interesting and instructive programme which had been 
provided was commenced. 

The blessing of Almighty God on the proceedings was invoked 
by Right Rev. Frederic Keator, of Tacoma, who besought the Di¬ 
vine guidance and blessing in the following eloquent terms: 

(3) 






4 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


INVOCATION 

Delivers by the Rt. Rev. Frederic W. Keator, D.D., Bishop op 

Olympia, at the Opening op the First Congress op American 

Road Builders, Seattle, July 5th, 1909. 

“O God, our Help in ages past, 

Our Hope for years to come.” 

We lift our heart and mind to Thee in humble adoration and 
grateful praise. 

We acknowledge Thee the Giver of all good gifts, the Inspirer 
of every good word and work. 

We thank Thee for all the manifold blessings bestowed on us 
as a nation. 

In all our progress we would see Thy guiding hand. We pray 
Thee help us to show forth our gratitude to Thee by a humble walk¬ 
ing before Thee all our days, and by a sincere obedience to Thy 
laws. 

We ask Thy blessing upon all who are in authority over us, and 
especially the President of the United States and the Governor of 
this State. 

Help them and us, remembering whose authority they bear, to do 
Thy will and set forward Thy kingdom. 

Grant Thy blessing to this Congress now assembled. Direct 
them in all their doings and further them with Thy continual help, 
that in all their ways they may acknowledge Thee. For Thine is 
the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory for ever. Amen. 

George E. Dickson, Chairman of the Washington State Commis¬ 
sion, then presented the Washington Good Roads Building to the 
University of Washington. It is intended that this building shall 
be used by the University as a lecture hall and in the furthering of 
highway engineering, which is a subject now in which the students 
of the University are trained under the able direction of Professor 
Samuel C. Lancaster. 

Mr. Dickson made the presentation in the following happy terms: 

ADDRESS OF GEORGE E. DICKSON. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the First Congress of American 
Road Builders: 

As the official representative of the Washington State Commis¬ 
sion to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, it gives me great 
pleasure to welcome you to the Washington State Good Roads 
Building. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


5 


I assure you it would be especially gratifying to the Washing¬ 
ton State Commission, and the people of the state, if this building 
was known as the official home of your organization. 

The Washington State Commission was created by act of the 
Tenth Legislature for the purpose of exhibiting the general de¬ 
velopments, resources, and advantages of the State of Washington, 
at the World’s Fair of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, to be 
held in Seattle, Washington, in 1909. 

Seven of the beautiful buildings you see on the exposition 
grounds were constructed by this Commission, yet the Washing¬ 
ton State Good Roads Building may prove the most important in 
the development and upbuilding of the state. 

The original appropriation of $2,500.00 set aside by us for a Good 
Roads Department did not contemplate the construction of a build¬ 
ing, but only an exhibit of road materials and road building. 

Owing to the great interest taken in the good roads movement 
throughout the state, fostered and promoted by Mr. Samuel Hill, 
President of the Washington Good Roads Association, and from 
the fact that the Washington State University had established a 
chair of “Good Roads” in that great institution of learning, the 
Commission, believing the construction of a building devoted to 
good roads and the installing of its good roads exhibit therein, 
would be a powerful aid in the promotion and education for good 
roads, concluded to construct this beautiful building, known as the 
Washington State Good Roads Building, at a cost of $12,000.00. 

This building is a permanent building, built on a substantial 
concrete foundation, and will be used by the State University as 
the home of its “Good Roads Department.” 

During the exposition it will house and be the home of the Wash¬ 
ington Good Roads exhibit, and its auditorium and lecture room 
will be used each day for lectures and classes in good roads. 

The building is designed and arranged particularly for educating 
the people as to the necessity for good roads. 

This Commission and the people of the state at large are es¬ 
pecially pleased that the first session of the American Congress of 
Road Builders will be held in this building, the first edifice of the 
kind to be built for the purpose of fostering and promoting the 
building of good roads. 

Gentlemen, on behalf of the Washington State Commission, for 
the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, I take great pleasure in 
dedicating this building to the purpose for which it was erected, 
viz., “Good Roads.” 

‘ It used to be said that all roads lead to Rome. I trust that the 
future may show that all “Good Roads” emanate from the Wash¬ 
ington State Good Roads Building. 


<S 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


Dr. Thomas Franklin Kane, President of the University of 
Washington, in accepting the gift of the State Commission, said: 

Mr. Dickson, Chairman of the State Commission of the Alaska- 
Yukon-Pacific Exposition: 

As a citizen of the state, along with every other citizen of the 
state, I wish to express my appreciation of the work of your Com¬ 
mission and the plans of the Exposition, whereby the state will 
receive for its appropriation to the Fair so large an amount of prop¬ 
erty of permanent value. Your Commission is to be congratulated 
on this signal service to the state. 

As representing the University, I wish to accept at your hands, 
for the state and for the University, this substantial and useful 
building. It has been planned by practical good roads engineers. 
It is well suited to its purpose. It is a happy coincidence that at 
the time of its dedication to its permanent use it is serving as the 
meeting place for the first Congress of American Road Builders. 

In accepting this building for the University, to you, Mr. Dick¬ 
son, for your Commission, and to you delegates assembled in this 
Congress, I pledge the University to do everything that can be 
done on our part toward having this building serve its intended 
purpose. 

It is a great pleasure to me, as a representative of one of the first 
Universities in this country, if not the first, to establish a chair 
of Good Roads Engineering, to be present at the first Congress of 
American Road Builders. It is an added cause of pleasure to have 
this first Congress assemble on the campus of the University. It is 
consistent with the policy of the University to provide for Good Roads 
Engineering. As a State University, it is our purpose to make the 
University of the highest possible service to the people of the state. 
The aim of the University is to help prepare young men and women 
for the work that will be of the greatest benefit to the state. 

The movement which this Congress represents, and which it is 
to advance, is one of the most important movements of our time, 
one that will result in as great benefit to the state as any that has 
taken place in years. 

The importance of this work in the state cannot at this time be 
measured. Commercially, good roads will enhance the value of 
every acre of agricultural and timber land in the state. It will in¬ 
crease the business of every town in the state. It will add to the 
value for the producer of every dollar’s worth produced in the state. 
Good roads mean for the farmer and for all business dependent 
upon local transportation approximate uniform business the year 
round—a whole year for business, instead of, as at present, busi¬ 
ness for the months in which the roads are good. Good roads will 
be one of the greatest inducements possible toward bringing to our 
state for permanent residence desirable classes of citizens, and our 
state will have the advantage, immediate and remote, such as Cali¬ 
fornia now abundantly enjoys, of travelers and visitors visiting our 
great state and seeing its attractions to advantage. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


7 


Socially, it will mean that the children can go to school, that 
people can go to church, that the rural mail carrier can deliver mail 
in every section of the state in every month of the year. It will 
mean another approach of country life to all of the advantages of 
city life, with none of the added disadvantages. It will mean that 
the workingman in the factories of the city may be able to go back 
and forth from his work to a home in the country with whole¬ 
some, healthful surroundings for bringing up his children. General¬ 
ly, good roads mean likewise healthful exercise and enjoyment, at¬ 
traction to the millionaire, and within reach of the humblest citizen 
in the state who can command the use of a vehicle, or even a 
bicycle. 

This work will stand in this country as a monument of the 
energy, the generosity, and the practical ability of the men who 
have taken an active part in these Good Roads Associations. Your 
work will long be remembered in the states and countries which 
you represent, and I trust that you may have the full enjoyment 
and satisfaction that come from having taken an active part in the 
accomplishing of work so beneficial for all time to your respective 
states. 


ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 

Governor M. E. Hay, of Washington State, whose rising was 
received with loud applause, then proceeded, on behalf of the state 
of which he is the head, to welcome the many delegates who were 
in attendance. Nearly every state in the Union was represented, 
and the Governor’s remarks were of a character both hearty and 
sincere' and he concluded by wishing the Congress every success, 
and by expressing the hope that their efforts and deliberations 
would be productive of much good in the improvement of the roads 
of the state and the United States generally. 

Governor Hay said, in part: 

The state of Washington is indeed glad to welcome you who 
represent an organization that has for its object a movement fully 
as important as the reclamation of the arid lands of our country 
and the conservation of our natural resources. I know that your 
meeting here will give added impetus to the growing interest in 
the Good Roads movement in this state. The problem of providing 
improved highways is worthy of the most serious consideration 
on the part of every state of our Union. Better transportation 
facilities in our rural districts is of vital importance, and the propa¬ 
ganda of education in the construction of durable roads which you 
are carrying on must ultimately prove of inestimable value to the 
nation. 

Among the nations of the first rank the United -States is far 
behind in road building; Government statistics show that, whereas 


8 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


it costs from seven to eight cents to transport one ton one mile 
over the improved roads of Europe, the average cost per ton per 
mile over the roads in this country is twenty-five cents. In this 
respect the United States ranks with Mexico. It is estimated that 
the annual cost of transportation over the common roads in this 
country reaches the enormous sum of one billion dollars. If, 
through proper construction, the cost of hauling over the roads in 
this country could be reduced to an equality with that in Europe, 
and a saving of two-thirds of a billion dollars might be effected, 
it is simple arithmetic to figure how much we can afford to ex¬ 
pend in attaining this great economic saving. There are many oth¬ 
er considerations besides the added profits from labor accruing 
from a reduction in the cost of transportation to urge in making an 
appeal for good roads. Improved highways mean increased popu¬ 
lation, easier facilities for communication, and consequently better 
social conditions. They also add to the value of the adjacent land 
and to the profit on every product marketed therefrom. 

In rural districts, where the population is sparse, which is the 
condition in many sections of this state, the expense of building 
good roads .is prohibitive, unless assistance can be received from 
other sources. The rapid development that naturally follows the 
improvement of transportation facilities adds directly to the tax¬ 
able wealth of the state, and consequently decreases the general 
burden of supporting the state government. Every step in the de¬ 
velopment of the rural districts directly benefits the town to which 
they are tributary, and indirectly the larger centers of population, 
which profit from the increased commerce originating from the 
farms, the lumber camps, the mines, and from the grazing districts. 
All the communities, therefore, which gain from an increased de¬ 
velopment, and the state as a whole, which profits indirectly, are will¬ 
ing to aid in the construction of good roads. This willingness is ex¬ 
pressed in the state aid road law now on our statute books, and I be¬ 
lieve that law is a wise and beneficial piece of legislation, one which 
is calculated to do much in adding to the value of farm lands and the 
profits derived from all industries such as I have enumerated, and 
consequently to the welfare of the entire state. 

Very much of the credit for the good roads legislation now on 
the statute books of our state is due Mr. Samuel Hill, and I desire 
to take this opportunity of acknowledging the splendid service he 
has rendered the people of Washington as President of the State 
Good Roads Association. The campaign of education in road 
building and agitation in creating a lively interest in this important 
economic question carried on by him has been inspired by purely 
patriotic and philanthropic motives. In this work, to which he has 
so enthusiastically and effectively devoted himself, Mr. Hill has 
earned the right to a prominent place among the most useful citi¬ 
zens of the state of Washington. 

The state of Washington, with its great area, is confronted with 
a big problem in providing all sections with improved highways. 
Our people are bending their energies to solving that problem, and 
welcome every opportunity to acquire reliable information and 



MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


9 


practical suggestions bearing on the question of the economical 
construction of country highways. The efforts of your organiza¬ 
tion are bearing fruit in all parts of the United States, and you 
will find here an intelligent appreciation of the work you are doing. 

OBJECTS AND PURPOSES OF THIS CONGRESS. 

“The Objects and Purposes of this Congress” was the subject of 
the address of Hon. C. H. Hanford, of Seattle. 

Address by Judge C. H. PIaneord. 

The object of this Congress is educational, practical, and stimu¬ 
lative. A country’s roads are to it important as a man’s veins and 
arteries are to him; each affords the means of circulation neces¬ 
sary to life. All people have a vague notion of the importance of 
public highways, but few have that degree of knowledge necessary 
to create a belief as to the necessity or wisdom of providing and 
maintaining roads of the quality essential to the use thereof with 
convenience and economy. The work of constructing and main¬ 
taining them requires men of scientific attainments, acting under 
the guidance of statesmen, who act most efficiently under the 
spur of popular demands. Those who use the highways and in¬ 
jure them most ascribe their deficiencies to the negligence of local 
officials, and are not conscious of any personal responsibility. 
Hence the necessity for action to challenge public attention and to 
teach the masses of the people with respect to the importance of 
having good roads and how they must be made. 

Road construction is a progressive science. Before the time 
of McAdam, the roads of England were very bad; that is to say; 
they were unfit for the use then required. Then improved methods 
of construction were devised, and the roads were greatly improved, 
and they were good roads for a time; but they proved to be in¬ 
capable of resisting the destructive forces of modern methods of 
rapid transit, so that Necessity, the mother of invention, has been 
required to bring forth new theories and new materials for road 
construction. I have referred to England, for the reason that I 
am informed that she leads all other countries in the construction 
of roads fit to endure the wear of swift-running automobiles and 
heavy traction engines which are used there. 

Knowledge acquired by experimental processes is very costly. 
Much time and wealth may be saved by an interchange of ideas; 
that is to say, for the thinkers and successful experimenters of dif¬ 
ferent localities to disseminate the knowledge which they have 
acquired for the general welfare. With this in view, the object of 
this Congress, the first of its kind to be held on the continent of 
North America, is to serve as a medium for the interchange of ideas 
and the dissemination of knowledge. It is the medium through 
which some of the greatest practical thinkers of our time are to 
speak to the whole world on the important subject of road build- 


10 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


ing. Seattle has been highly honored in being selected as the city 
in which the first American Congress of road builders shall be 
held. The city appreciates the honor and cordially welcomes all 
who have come, from near and from far, to participate in the noble 
enterprise of enlightening the world. 

In conclusion, permit me to say that credit for this Congress, is 
due to one man, whose name has already been mentioned with 
commendation—Mr. Samuel Hill. With patriotic and unselfish zeal 
he devotes much of his time and is generous financially in promot¬ 
ing the cause of good roads. He engages in this work because he 
likes to do it, and he likes to do it because he realizes that thereby 
he is assisting in doing what is best for his fellow men. Hereafter, 
when Europeans, or our own countrymen, speak in derision of 
Americans as worshippers of the Almighty Dollar, we may justly 
claim that there are Americans who prefer to spend the money 
which they have to lighten the burdens and enhance the joys of all 
people, rather than to accumulate more wealth, and among men of 
this stamp Samuel Hill is the leader. 

James J. Hill was scheduled on the programme to give an ad¬ 
dress on “Primary Transportation/’ but was unavoidably prevented 
from coming to Seattle. This was a cause of extreme regret to the 
delegates. 


4 

HISTORY OF ROAD BUILDING IN THE UNITED 
STATES. 

Mr. E. L. Powers, of the “Good Roads Magazine,” of New York 
City, then read a paper on the “History of Road Building in the 
United States,” which is here printed in full. 

Paper by Mr. E. L. Powers. 

The subject assigned me is one with which all here assembled 
are more or less familiar. Our public roads are an evolution from 
the primary paths made by animals and by men. Of the identity 
of the first beings who made paths in the wilderness we are uncer¬ 
tain. Whatever their character and origin, we may be reasonably 
certain that they had roads of some sort. 

It cannot be positively asserted that the mound-building Indians 
made roads, but that such was the case seems not unlikely. Sev¬ 
eral circumstances indicate that they had some system of com¬ 
munication. The remains of their works are often found on streams 
that were not navigable, and groups of them are found concentrated 
about natural strategic points, such as mountain passes, thus mak¬ 
ing natural the inference that some avenues of overland travel 
existed. 



MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


11 


The buffalo herds made broad, straight paths from point to point, 
which can yet be traced. These animals instinctively chose the 
best routes, and in many cases it has been found impossible to im¬ 
prove upon them. The Indians used these thoroughfares for many 
of their trails, and later the white man, finding them good, appro¬ 
priated them to his own use. The first white settlers to start with 
had very little to transport. Therefore a path to accommodate the 
pack horse was sufficient for their needs. As population grew and 
the country became civilized, more commodities had to be moved, 
and the wagon superseded the pack train. This necessitated wid¬ 
ening the former paths, and when it was found that the soft earth 
road would not sustain the wagon traffic attention was then given 
to the roadbed. The first step in this direction was the construc¬ 
tion of the corduroy road, made by the use of saplings and logs. 
This was a step forward, although it is possible that some of you 
have ridden over such roads and know by experience that they do 
not compare very favorably with at least some of our roads to-day. 

Road building began at centers, and spread out with the spread 
of population. Probably the real work of opening the roads in 
America began with the bridle paths on the Atlantic Slope. In 
1639 a measure was passed in the Massachusetts Bay colony which 
provided that two or three men from adjacent towns get together 
and lay out proper roads. They were instructed to place the roads 
where they might be most convenient, and those deputed to the 
work were to have the power to locate them wherever they chose, 
provided that it did not necessitate pulling down a man’s house or 
going through his garden or orchard. These men seem to have 
been (about) the first highway commissioners of whom we have 
record. 

In 1664 the government of the then province of New York 
adopted regulations for road making. These are the specifications: 

“The highways to be cleared as followeth, viz., the way to be made clear of 
standing and lying trees, at least ten feet broad; all stumps and shrubs to be 
cut close by the ground. The trees marked yearly on both sides—sufficient 
bridges to be made and kept over all marshy, swampy .and difficult dirty 
places, and whatever else shall be thought more necessary about the highways 
aforesaid.” 

In Pennsylvania, in 1692, the townships were given the control 
of the roads, and eight years later the county roads were put in the 
hands of county justices and King’s highways in the hands of the 
governor and his council. 

Previous to the time of the Revolutionary War, it can be said 
that almost nothing had been done towards what we to-day under¬ 
stand by the term road building. In 1790 it is estimated that there 
were nearly 1,800 miles of post roads in the United States. As 
stated, road improvement began at the centers of the settlements 
and spread out as population increased. Philadelphia was one of 
the principal centers. Many roads began there, and were extended 
further and further. It is noticeable that in corduroying the roads 
the tendency was to narrow and deepen them—in fact, one his- 


12 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


torian relates that they were made so deep that an instance is given 
of where, in trying to get a team out of a mudhole with a chain 
around the horse’s neck, they pulled half the horse’s head off. 

The advent of the stagecoach and freight wagon brought about 
another era in road building. This caused much friction between 
the pack horse owners and the stagecoach and wagon men—a thing 
which always has and probably always will happen when a radical 
change is made in methods of transportation. We see the prin¬ 
ciple illustrated to-day in much the same way in the advent of the 
automobile. The adoption of the stagecoach ushered in the mac¬ 
adamized road, or, as it was known at that time, a road made of 
layers of broken stone. It is true, however, that but few such roads 
were built at the time. Most of the old roads were merely widened 
and graded by state and county, but remained of dirt. 

Nearly all of the macadamized roads were built by road and turn¬ 
pike companies. It is claimed that the first and most interesting 
macadamized road in the United States was the old Lancaster 
Turnpike, which ran from Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pa. This 
road was built by the Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike Com¬ 
pany, its charter being granted April 9, 1792. The work of build¬ 
ing began immediately, and was completed in 1794, at a Cost of 
$465,000. The road was built very straight, with regular slope 
transversely. The macadam was carefully prepared, and no stone 
was allowed on the road that would not pass a two-inch ring. It 
was first planned to make the road 100 feet wide, but this was found 
too expensive. 

The toll gate, or turnpike, still exists in many isolated sections 
of the country, but gradually they are passing. A number of states 
are now arranging for their complete extinction. 

In 1750 there were three routes running through Southwestern 
Pennsylvania, Central Pennsylvania, and Central New York. 
These roads are said to have been wide enough for two pack horses 
to pass. In 1755 two roads were opened westward by troops of 
Washington, Braddock, and Forbes. These were long trails, wid¬ 
ened by pack horses of the Ohio Companies’ agents. Braddock’s 
road was cut through in 1755. * 

In the year 1799 the state of Virginia appointed commissioners 
to construct a road over the Cumberland Mountains to the open 
country in Kentucky. These commissioners were authorized to 
call on the local county authorities for guards to protect the work¬ 
men from the Indians. Commissioners were appointed in 1785 to 
open a wagon road from the head of James river in Virginia to 
Lexington. 

Kentucky became a state in 1792, and passed its first road law 
in 1797, a law very similar to that of Virginia, which was in turn 
an adaptation of the English road law. Under its provisions, ap¬ 
plications were made to the county court to open a road to the 
County courthouse and to other points. Three persons, termed 
“viewers,” were appointed to examine the road and report on same 
as to the comparative advantages and disadvantages. For the 
general supervision and care of the roads, the county divided them 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 13 

into precincts, each consisting of a certain number of miles, over 
which an overseer or surveyor was appointed. It was the over¬ 
seer’s duty to look after repairs. With some modifications, Ken¬ 
tucky operated under this law until 1894. It is stated that the pub¬ 
lic system of Macadam and Telford roads was begun as early as 
1810, although other authorities claim that no macadamized road 
or turnpike had been constructed in the state prior to 1829. 

From about 1822 to 1850 Kentucky gave liberally towards build¬ 
ing roads, and many miles of both gravel and macadam were con¬ 
structed. Some, like the road between Lexington and Frankfort, 
were built directly by the state; but in the greater number of cases 
the state contribution was in the form of the purchase of shares in 
turnpike companies. By these means the state paid for road build¬ 
ing, between 1822 and 1860, nine million dollars. 

When by act of Congress Ohio was admitted into the Union as 
a state in the year 1802, one of the provisions, to become binding 
on the United States as soon as the Ohio convention should accept 
it, was one providing that one-twentieth part of the net proceeds 
of the lands lying within the state sold by Congress from and after 
a certain fixed date should, after deducting all expenses incident 
to the same, be applied to the laying out and making of public 
roads leading from the navigable waters emptying into the Atlantic, 
to the Ohio, to the said state and through same, such roads to be 
laid out under the authority of Congress with the consent of the 
several states through which the roads should pass. The measure 
became a law and was accepted by the Ohio convention November 
29, 1802. 

Soon after the beginning of the last century, the matter of build¬ 
ing the road from Cumberland to St. Louis was agitated. The re¬ 
sult was that by a special act of Congress in 1806 the -President 
was authorized to appoint a commission of three to lay out a road 
four rods wide from Cumberland, on the north bank of the Potomac 
river, to a point a little below Wheeling. This road is known as 
the “Cumberland Road,” or the “Old National Pike.” As originally 
planned, the road was to go from Cumberland to St. Louis, a dis¬ 
tance of 1,000 miles. Only about 800 miles, however, were com¬ 
pleted. Thirty thousand dollars were first appropriated for carry¬ 
ing on the work. In the year 1819 the appropriation was $500,000, 
and the last appropriation for the road made by Congress was in 
1838 for $150,000. The total amount expended up to that time was 
$7,000,000, $680,000 of which was from the Ohio fund. 

The Old National Pike was built of macadam, the depth of metal 
being 18 inches in the center and 12 inches at the sides. It was a 
toll road, and the revenues received were applied to repair and 
maintenance. In Ohio the amount collected in the year 1839 was 
$62,446.10, and this seems to have been the banner year. The 
average cost of .the road between Cumberland and Uniontown was 
$9,745 per mile, while that of the division east of the Ohio river 
was about $13,000 per mile. This cost included the heavy grading 
and stone bridges which were built. The average cost of the road 
in Eastern Ohio was much less than in Maryland and Pennsyl- 


14 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


vania, being about $3,400 per mile, and this included macadamizing, 
masonry, bridges, and culverts. Although the road was projected 
and partially surveyed in 1806, it was not thrown open to the public 
until the year 1812. 

In about 1852 the development of the railroads took from the 
National Pike the bulk of travel and traffic, as well as the mails 
between the East and West. Thus began the period of decline of 
the most famous road in our history. 

Many interesting debates took place in Congress in relation to 
the construction of the National Pike. Henry Clay was one of the 
most ardent advocates of the measure. An argument used in one 
of his speeches was that when the Cumberland Roads and the State 
Road from Baltimore to Cumberland should be completed the 
journey from Baltimore to Wheeling would be reduced from eight 
days to three days. 

In 1804, 1805, and 1806, through the favor of the National Con¬ 
gress, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was organized, for the pur¬ 
pose of establishing a route from the Atlantic to the Pacific by 
following the Missouri to its source, and crossing to and following 
to tidewater the great river which forms the southern boundary of 
the state of Washington. Great credit is due Meriwether Lewis 
and Captain Clark and their company of explorers in carrying out 
this work. Praise is also due to John C. Fremont, the eminent 
engineer, who in 1844 surveyed a route to these shores through 
what was then named the South Pass of the Rockies. While not 
road builders in the strict sense of the term, these determined men 
made the famous trails of history that were primarily important 
factors in the establishment of avenues of traffic, thereby making 
possible the magnificent development of the Pacific Slope. 

In his book on Road Building in the United States, General Roy 
Stone says that “few are aware that, while the construction of the 
Cumberland Road was in progress, twelve national roads were laid 
out in the states and territories, making what was regarded then 
as a complete system of highways, and that more or less work was 
done in opening and constructing these various highways.” 

The plank road came into existence as a rival of macadam con¬ 
struction in the year 1835. The first road of this sort to be built 
in the United States was constructed at Syracuse in 1837. A large 
number of plank road companies were organized, and within fifteen 
years from the introduction of that method of road construction 
2,106 miles had been constructed in the state of New York. These 
roads were usually built single track and of planks eight by three 
inches, laid on stringers resting on more or less well laid founda¬ 
tions. The average cost in New York was less than $2,000 per 
mile, and their cheapness made them popular. During the period 
of cheap lumber plank roads were built extensively from the larger 
cities. Some of them remain, but the gradually increasing cost of 
lurrfber has led to other methods of construction. Their usefulness 
has survived in one respect, however. No community, after once 
having had a good plank road, could ever go back to the muddy 
and rutty earth road without strenuous protest. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


15 


Paved roadways appear to have received attention in the towns 
and cities before very much attention was given to the subject of 
country road building. According to the most authentic records, 
the first pavements laid in the United States were put down almost 
simultaneously in the cities of New York and Boston in the year 
1650. These pavements have been referred to as pebbles, probably 
what we would call cobblestone pavements. The development of 
this branch of road building has been brought to a high state of de¬ 
velopment—due, of course, to the great amount aiffi diversified 
nature of the traffic to be accommodated. 

The modern awakening to the necessity for better roads, or, as 
it is more commonly called, the Good Roads Movement, began in 
1885, when the bicycle came into general use. Bicycles became 
very popular, and in consequence a large army of new users of 
the highways was produced. These wheelmen quickly saw the 
necessity for better highways, not only for themselves, but for all 
other road users as well. They organized themselves, and began 
issuing literature calling attention of the public to the great loss 
entailed from lack of better country roads. Statistics were pub¬ 
lished, showing the cost of bad roads to the farmer and to all other 
citizens. This literature was sent broadcast, and the newspapers 
were appealed to. The press—always a most potent factor in the 
molding of public opinion—took the matter up, and public senti¬ 
ment was aroused. 

As a result of the agitation the state of New Jersey put into 
practical operation a plan for state aid in the improvement of its 
highways. This was the first application of the principle, and really 
inaugurated a new era in road building. It is true that as early as 
1819 the state of North Carolina gave aid in the construction of 
roads through a state board of internal improvements. This plan, 
however, it appears, for some reason, did not work out satisfacto¬ 
rily. The application of state aid in New Jersey was quickly fol¬ 
lowed by the adoption of similar measures in Massachusetts and 
Connecticut. The principle thus became well established. It has 
since been put into operation by other states, so that to-day up¬ 
wards of 50 per cent, of them have some co-operated plan of road 
improvement. State aid has now become fully recognized as cor¬ 
rect in principle and efficient in its application. 

The Office of Public Roads was inaugurated in the year 1893 in 
the United States Department of Agriculture for the purpose of 
disseminating information, testing materials, and giving instruc¬ 
tion in the art of road building. Statistics compiled and published 
by this Office in the year 1904 show that at that time there were 
2,151,507 miles of roads in the United States. Of this mileage, 
however, only 153,662 miles were of improved roads, or a little more 
than 7 per cent, as compared with the total length of all the roads 
in the country. 

The task we have before us of improving the other 93 per cent, 
of the roads of the country seems gigantic. That we are making 
progress cannot be denied; that we have not made greater progress 
is due to many reasons. It must be remembered that it was but a 


16 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


comparatively short time ago that attention was first seriously 
drawn to the necessity for road improvement, and that we have but 
recently placed the country roads under properly organized super¬ 
vision. The great growth of our population and the consequent 
increased road traffic, brought about especially by new methods 
of locomotion, has greatly raised the standard of our requirements. 
It must, of necessity, take a long time to effectually overcome the 
neglect and the mistakes of former years. It is not so easy, as road 
builders know, to make an old, badly constructed roadway over as 
it is to start and build a new road under modern practice. Road 
contractors and engineers are not trained in a day to the practical 
part of the work, and the men who really know how are far too 
few in number to construct all the roads of this country to meet 
the conditions of modern traffic as rapidly as many good people 
would like. 

In the great state of Washington a splendid start has been made 
in road building. No state has shown greater enterprise. No state 
can dispute her claim to foremost rank in the matter of initiative. 
The establishment of a Chair of Highway Engineering is a for¬ 
ward step and one well worthy of imitation in every state. In 
road improvement, Washington has set an example for all this great 
Western country. 

There are two classes in interest in the matter of road building— 
those who build the roads, or are responsible for their construction, 
and those who use them. Both classes are represented here to-day, 
and it is well that they should be. No progress has ever been made 
without the proper sort of co-operation. There should be a full and 
complete understanding between these classes. The automobilists, 
to a man, are good roads enthusiasts; so should be all other users 
of the highway. Every one who travels a roadway should under¬ 
stand that to make a road suited to present-day conditions requires 
a thorough knowledge of materials and skill in methods on the part 
of the road builder. The user should not expect too much. Money 
is first required, but money will not build roads, unless the men 
who know how are available. To build faster means larger appro¬ 
priations and a greater number of skilled contractors and engineers. 
We must educate road builders; we must train them, before the 
work can go on at its maximum rate. The men charged with the 
work of highway improvement are thoroughly honest, conscien¬ 
tious, and efficient, and they are giving the best years of their lives 
to the public service. Upon them are placed great responsibilities, 
and they should be given much praise. Their work should not be 
hindered by those who are too zealous to have all the roads im¬ 
proved in a single day. There are many difficult problems, which 
must be worked out, and which require time and experience to 
solve. Education, organization, and administration are the great 
factors in carrying on the work of road building: let them all be 
given due attention. It may be true that we are on the eve of great 
developments in the navigation of the air. With the building of 
roads above the earth we are not concerned at present. We have 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


17 


the roads here on earth to-day, and we will have them with us to¬ 
morrow. We must rely upon them, and therefore we must make 
them good. We can do this through unity of action, through enter¬ 
prise, and through education and organization. 


EARTH, SAND, CLAY, AND GRAVEL ROADS. 

“Earth, Sand, Clay, and Gravel Roads” was the subject of the 
paper by Mr. M. O. Eldredge, of Washington, D. C. 

Paper by Maurice O. Eedredge, Assistant in Road Management, 
U. S. Oeeice oe Public Roads. 

Earth Roads. 

The cost of hauling over country roads is largely determined by 
the size of the load that can be hauled, the number of trips that can 
be made in a day, and the wear and tear on teams and equipment. 
Steep grades, as well as ruts and mudholes, serve to decrease both 
the speed and the load. On the principle that a chain is no stron¬ 
ger than its weakest links, the maximum load that a team can draw 
is the load that it can draw up the steepest hill or through the 
deepest mudhole on that road. 

Wherever possible roads should be located on straight lines be¬ 
tween terminal points. In hilly or mountainous country, however, 
the attempts to keep roads straight between terminals often leads 
to the serious error of heavy grades. Straightness and grade must 
therefore be handled together. The best location is one which is 
straight in general direction, is free from steep grades, is located 
on solid ground, and serves the largest possible number of people. 

Roads should be located for the benefit of the people, and not 
the private landowner. If county officials would apply to each 
badly located road some simple formula like the following, they 
would be justified in relocating many roads. For example: The 
diagonal road on a 160-acre tract is .70 mile and saves .30 mile in 
going around it. Assuming 3,000 tons of traffic and, a cost of 25 
cents per ton per mile, the public would save $225 by the short 
route. This is enough to pay the interest and sinking fund on at 
least $4,000, which would be sufficient to pay for the whole farm 
at $25 per acre. The $225 alone would in most cases pay the dam¬ 
age, and in many other cases there would be no damage. If the 
short road is on a better grade than the long one, the saving would 
be still greater. 

The elimination of one or two steep hills on a line of road will 
frequently enable horses to draw three or four times as much as 
they could draw on the old road. It takes approximately four times 
as much power to draw loads up 10 per cent, grades (10 feet ver- 
M.R.B.—2 


18 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


tical in 100 feet horizontal) as on a level, but on a 4 per cent, or 
5 per cent, grade a horse can usually draw (for a short time) as 
much as he can draw on a level. A 4 per cent, or 5 per cent, grade 
is, therefore, considered the maximum on roads subject to heavy 
hauling. Many steep grades may be avoided by locating the road 
around instead of over the hill, and it is often no further around a 
hill than over it; the bail of the bucket is no longer when held in a 
horizontal position than in a vertical. By going around we avoid 
two steep hills. 

If the road must pass up a steep hill or mountain side, the steep¬ 
ness of the grade may be decreased by increasing the length of 
the road. In other words, eliminate steep grades by locating the 
road on curved or zigzag lines, and not in a straight line from 
the bottom to the top of the hill. These curves should be care¬ 
fully plotted and the straight stretches located with an instrument. 
This improves the looks of the road and does not add materially to 
its cost. 

In studying the relation of grade to distance, the following cal¬ 
culation is interesting: To lift a ton one foot high requires 2,000 
foot pounds of energy; on a road the surface of which offers 100 
pounds of tractive resistance per ton the same energy would roll 
the ton a horizontal distance of 20 feet. To save one foot of grade 
the road may therefore be lengthened 20 feet. 

Roads should never be located so close to stream beds as to be 
subject to overflow, or on ground which is constantly damp and 
marshy. 

The earth road should have at least six hours of, sunshine each 
day. This can be secured either by locating the road with south¬ 
ern or western exposure, or by having such brush and trees as im¬ 
pede the drying action of the sun and wind removed. With gravel 
and stone roads, this is not so necessary, as a certain amount of 
moisture is needed on such roads, especially in the summer time. 

Relocating roads is not an engineering problem alone. One 
must also consider the effect of the road on those who now live 
upon it. Many farmers dislike to have the road placed back of 
their houses or out of sight of it. It requires tact and good judg¬ 
ment to secure a suitable location without arousing harsh antago¬ 
nism. 

As soils differ for agricultural purposes, so they differ for roads. 
Clays or soils of fine texture usually make poor roads, especially 
if they contain much vegetable matter. The coarser soils, however, 
which contain some sand or gravel, will often make very satisfac¬ 
tory roads for light traffic, provided they are kept in proper repair. 

If the road is composed of fine clay or soil, it will sometimes pay 
to resurface it with top soil from an adjacent field which has sand 
or gravel mixed with it. This method, called the “top soil method/’ 
is now in successful use in Clarke county, Ga. 

The earth road can best be crowned and ditched with a road 
machine, and not with picks and shovels, scoops and plows. One 
road machine, with suitable power and operator, will do the work 
of many men with picks and shovels, and do it better. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


19 


The road machine should be used when the soil is damp, so as 
to make the soil bake when it dries out. If it is worked dry, it takes 
more power to draw the machine, and, besides, dry earth and dust 
retain moisture and quickly rut after rains. The use of clods, sods, 
weeds, or vegetable matter- in building earth roads should be avoid¬ 
ed, because they also retain moisture. 

It is a great mistake to put the working of the earth road off 
until August or September. The surface is then baked dry and 
hard. It is not only difficult to work, but is unsatisfactory work 
when done. Earth which is loose and dry will remain dusty as 
long as the dry weather lasts, and then turn to mud as soon as the 
rains begin. * By using the road machine in the spring of the year, 
while the soil is soft and damp, the surface is more easily shaped, 
and soon packs down into a dry, hard crust, which is less liable to 
become dusty in summer or muddy in winter. 

Storm water should be disposed of quickly before it has time to 
penetrate deeply into the surface. This can be done by giving the 
road a crown or slope from the center to the sides. For an earth 
road which is 24 feet wide, the center should be not less than 6 
inches nor more than 12 inches higher than the outer edges of the 
shoulders. A narrow earth road which is high in the middle will 
become rutted almost as quickly as one which is tbo flat, for the 
reason that on the narrow road all the traffic is forced to use only 
a narrow strip. 

Shoulders are often formed on both sides of the road, which pre¬ 
vent storm water from flowing into side ditches, retaining it in the 
ruts and softening the roadway. These ruts and shoulders can be 
entirely eliminated with the road machine or split-log drag. 

Ordinarily, the only ditches needed are those made with the 
road machine, which are wide and shallow. Deep, narrow ditches 
wash rapidly, especially on steep slopes, which is another good rea¬ 
son for decreasing the steepness of the grades. It is difficult to 
maintain an earth road, or any kind of road for that matter, on a 
steep grade. 

The width of the earth road will depend on the traffic. As a rule, 
25 or 30 feet from ditch to ditch is sufficient, if the road is properly 
crowned. A road that is narrower than 25 feet is difficult to main¬ 
tain, for the above-stated reason that on narrow roads the teams 
are more apt to track than on a wider road, causing it to rut if sub¬ 
jected to heavy hauling. 

We should not loosen, dig up, or plow up any more of the surface 
of an earth road than is absolutely necessary. The road should be 
gradually raised, not lowered; hardened, not softened. 

On flat lands, where water moves slowly, grading material should 
be taken from the lower ditch, and culverts supplied where water¬ 
ways occur. A shallow ditch on the upper side makes it possible 
to give culverts a good fall. Two or more small pipes, instead of 
one large one of equal capacity, may be used for culverts, especially 
if the large pipe necessitates much grading or raising of the road¬ 
way. At least 6 inches should be left between each pipe, and earth 


20 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


should be tamped around them thoroughly, so as to prevent a wash- 
out. . , 

To prevent washing on steep roads, the water should be carried 
under the surface at frequent intervals from the upper to the lower 
side, and from the lower side away from the road. Five 12-inch 
pipes in a mile of roadway are about as cheap and far better than one 
24-inch pipe. The water must be disposed of before it gains force 
or headway, or has time to damage the road. 

If culvert pipes have a fall of 1 inch to 100 feet, the water passing 
through them has a velocity of about four miles an hour; but if 
the fall is 36 inches to 100 feet, the velocity is about 20 miles per 
hour. Hence a pipe laid upon a fall of 36 inches to 100 feet, will 
have five times the capacity of a pipe of equal diameter laid on a 
grade of 1 inch to 100 feet. A 24-inch pipe, having a fall of 1 inch 
to 100 feet, will have a capacity of 3,296 gallons per minute; where¬ 
as a 12-inch pipe, having a fall of 36 inches to 100 feet, will have 
a capacity of 2,554 gallons per minute. 

By increasing the fall, we increase the capacity of the pipe, de¬ 
crease the size of the pipe necessary, and, therefore, decrease the 
cost of the culverts. Furthermore, culverts laid flat will soon fill 
up, but if given a good fall they will keep themselves clear. 

If much fall is obtained in a culvert pipe, the spillway should be 
paved. Earth should be tamped under and around the pipe in lay¬ 
ers, and should be of sufficient depth to prevent the pipe from be¬ 
ing broken by traffic; but under no circumstances should a ridge 
over the culvert be allowed, for it not only endangers the life of the 
culvert, but is a menace to traffic. 

An attempt to drain mudholes with culvert pipe will fail in 
most cases. The water should be drained off by means of open 
ditches, and the soft mud then thrown out and replaced with just 
enough good firm earth to make it level (after consolidation) with 
the surrounding surface. If mudholes in earth roads are filled with 
brush or stone, it usually results in two mudholes, one at each end. 

Repairs should be* made when needed, and not once a year after 
crops are “laid by.” One hundred days’ labor, judiciously dis¬ 
tributed throughout the year, will accomplish more and better work 
in the maintenance of an earth road than the same amount of labor 
expended in six days, especially if the six days are in August, Sep¬ 
tember, or October, when the ground is hard and dry. 

Because of its simplicity, its efficiency, and cheapness, the split- 
log drag, or some similar device, is destined to come into more and 
more general use. With the drag properly built and its use well 
understood, the maintenance of earth and gravel roads becomes 
a simple and inexpensive matter. Care should be taken to make 
the log so light that one man can lift it with ease, as a light drag 
responds more readily to various methods of hitching and the shift¬ 
ing positions of the operator than a heavier one. 

The best material for the drag is a dry cedar log, though elm, 
walnut, box elder, or soft maple are excellent. Oak, hickory, or 
ash are too heavy. The log should be from seven to ten feet long, 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


21 


and from eight to ten inches in diameter at the butt end. It should 
be split carefully as near the center as possible, and the heaviest 
and best slab chosen for the front. Holes are then bored per¬ 
pendicular and at right angles to the split faces, and in such a way 
that one end of the back slab when fastened in position will be 
about 16 inches nearer the center of the road than the front one. 
This gives the “set-back,” so that the logs will track when drawn 
along the road at an angle of about 45 degrees. The two halves of 
the logs are fastened together by stakes, these being mortised into 
the holes above mentioned. A cleated board is placed between the 
slabs for the driver to stand on. 

A strip of iron placed along the lower face of the front slab will 
prevent the drag from wearing. The drag may be fastened to the 
doubletree by means of a trace chain. The chain should be 
wrapped around the left-hand or rear stake and passed over the 
front slab. Raising the chain at this end of the slab permits the 
earth to drift past the face of the drag. The other end of the chain 
should be passed through a hole in the opposite end of the front 
slab and held by a pin passed through a link. 

For ordinary purposes the hitch should be so made that the un¬ 
loaded drag will follow the team at an angle of about 45 degrees. 
The team should be driven with one horse on either side of the 
right-hand wheel track or rut the full length of the portion to be 
dragged, and made to return in the same manner over the other 
half of the roadway. Such treatment will move the earth toward 
the center of the roadway and raise it gradually above the sur¬ 
rounding level. 

The best results have been obtained by dragging roads once each 
way after each heavy rain. In some cases, however, one drag¬ 
ging every three or four weeks has been found sufficient to keep a 
road in good condition. 

When the soil is moist, but not sticky, the drag does its best 
work. As the soil in the field will bake if plowed wet, so the road 
will bake if the drag is used on it when it is wet. If the roadway is 
full of holes or badly rutted, the drag should be used once when 
the road is soft and slushy. This is particularly applicable before 
a cold spell in winter, when it is possible to so prepare the surface 
that it will freeze smooth. 

Not infrequently conditions are met which may be overcome by 
a slight change in the manner of hitching. Shortening the chain 
tends to lift the front slab and make the cutting slight, while a 
longer hitch causes the front slab to sink more deeply into the earth 
and act on the principle of a plow. 

Sand-Clay Roads. 

About 1894, an agent of the Office of Public Roads found several 
miles of natural road near Cape Charles on the sandy shores of 
Eastern Virginia which were smooth and firm throughout the year. 
An examination of the surface soil of which the road was composed 


22 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


developed the fact that the surface contained a mixture of sand 
and clay. An expert of the office, a few years later, while attend¬ 
ing a road convention in Marion county, Fla., found that the road 
officials of that county were making excellent roads by surfacing 
the old sandy roads with a natural clay and sand mixture obtained 
from a pit near Bartow. From these observations, the origin of the 
sand-clay road may be traced. 

Comparatively little, if any, sand-clay road had been constructed 
previous to 1894; but since that time experts of the Office of Pub-» 
lie Roads have been studying and experimenting with this method 
of construction, and advocating its use, with the result that, ten 
years after the first observation was made along this line by the 
Office, there were nearly 3,000 miles of sand-clay roads in the 
South, distributed as follows: 


Miles 

South Carolina.1,575 

Georgia . 513 

North Carolina..;.. 438 

Morida . 435 

Alabama . 12 


At the present time there are probably twice as many miles as in 
1904; its popularity being due to the facts that it is cheap, com¬ 
paratively firm and durable, easy to construct and repair, and that 
the materials out of which it is built are plentiful in many sections 
of the country. 

The sand-clay road is made by mixing the sand and clay in such 
a way that the grains of sand touch each other; the spaces between 
the grains being filled with clay, which acts as a binder. 

The approximate mixture of sand and clay may be determined by 
filling a vessel with a sample of the sand to be used, and another 
vessel of the same size with water. The water is poured carefully 
into the sand until it reaches the point of overflowing. The volume 
of water removed from the second vessel represents approximately 
the proportion of clay needed. 

The proportion of sand and clay can best be determined, how.- 
ever, as the work progresses, as some clay will contain more sand 
than others. In fact, clays are very frequently found which already 
contain about the right proportion of sand. This is true of the Bar¬ 
tow clay, above referred to. 

The Clay on Sand Road. 

If the road to be treated is sandy, the surface is first leveled off 
and crowned with a road machine, the crown being about one- 
half inch to the foot from the center to the sides. The clay is then 
dumped on the surface and carefully spread, so that it will be from 
6 inches to 8 inches in depth at the center, and gradually decreas¬ 
ing in depth towards the sides. A layer of clean sand is then 
usually added, which is thoroughly mixed with the clay, either by 
traffic or by means of plows and disk or tooth harrows. 

The best results have been obtained by thoroughly mixing or 







MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


23 


puddling the materials when wet. For this reason it is desirable 
to do the mixing in wet weather. The mixing can be left to the 
traffic after the materials have been properly placed; but this in¬ 
volves a whole winter and spring of bad road, and even then the 
mixing is not always satisfactory. In all cases, it is advisable to 
dress the road with a road machine or split-log drag after the ma¬ 
terials have been thoroughly mixed, and to give it a crown of not 
more than 1 inch or less than three-fourths of an inch to the foot 
from the center to the sides. A light coating of sand may then be 
added. The use of the road machine or drag should be continued 
at frequent intervals until the surface is smooth and firm. 

The Sand on Clay Road. 

If the road to be treated is composed of clay, it should first be 
brought to a rough grade with a road machine. The surface should 
then be plowed and thoroughly pulverized by harrowing to a depth 
of about 4 inches, after which it is given a crown or slope of about 
one-half inch to the foot from the center to the sides. It is then 
covered with 6 inches to 8 inches of clean, sharp sand, which is 
spread thicker in the center than at the sides. The materials should 
then be mixed with plows and harrows while they are comparative¬ 
ly dry, after which they are finally puddled with a harrow during 
wet weather. If clay works to the surface and the road becomes 
sticky, more sand should be added. 

The road is then shaped, crowned, and ditched in the usual man¬ 
ner with a road machine. This should be done when the surface 
is soft, yet stiff enough to pack well under the roller or the traffic. 
Wide, but shallow, ditches should be provided on both sides of the 
road, and culverts or cross-drains should be placed wherever water 
flows across the road, for it is exceedingly important that the “sand 
on clay” roads be well drained. 

After the “clay on sand” or the “sand on clay” road is com¬ 
pleted, it should be carefully maintained until the surface becomes 
firm and smooth. The construction of this type of road is by no 
means a quick operation. If soft, sticky places appear, more sand 
should be added, and if loose, sandy places are found, more clay is 
needed. It is just as important to attend to these small details as 
to any other part of the work; for, if they are neglected, the road is 
liable to fail. 

It requires approximately one cubic yard of clay to surface iy 2 
running yards of road 12 feet in width, or about 1,175 cubic yards 
to the mile. From three-fourths to one cubic yard will make a load 
for two horses on a dry clay road. The cost of the road will there¬ 
fore depend largely upon the distance the material is hauled, the aver¬ 
age being from $300 to $800 per mile. A road built under the direc¬ 
tion of the Office of Public Roads at Gainesville, Fla., one mile long, 
14 feet wide, and having 9 inches of sand-clay surface, cost $881 per 
mile, or 10 cents per square yard. Another sand-clay road built by the 
Office at Tallahassee, Fla., 16 feet wide, 7 inches thick, cost $470 per 
mile, or about 5 cents per square yard. 


24 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


Gravel Roads. 

A properly located and well-drained earth foundation is the 
prerequisite of a good gravel road. It is a waste of material and 
labor to apply gravel to the surface of a road which is full of ruts 
and holes. A smooth, solid foundation is just as necessary as in 
macadam construction. 

There are so many different kinds of gravel that it is almost 
impossible to lay down principles of construction which will hold 
good in all cases. A road building gravel should bind well. The 
qualities of hardness and toughness are important, but not so im¬ 
portant as the cementing value. The angular gravels, with square, 
sharp fractures, are the best. Water-worn creek or river gravel, 
which is round and clean, will seldom produce a satisfactory wear¬ 
ing surface. Such material may, however, be used for a founda¬ 
tion, and bonded with a layer of suitable pit gravel. 

Two deposits of gravel are seldom found which are exactly 
alike. When there are several pits to choose from, hand samples 
should be selected from each and carefully examined, and if pos¬ 
sible a test made to ascertain the cementing value of each. By sep¬ 
arating the gravel, sand, and clay a fair idea of the relative value 
of each may be ascertained. If there is still any doubt as to which 
is the best, a short stretch of road built of each sample will indicate, 
within a few months, not only the cementing value, but also the 
wearing quality, of each. 

If the gravel varies in size from very, small pieces to large pieces, 
good results may sometimes be secured by separating the gravel 
with a hand or power screen. Gravel roads built of screened 
gravel are usually superior to those built of unscreened gravel, al¬ 
though there are exceptions to this rule. 

When the gravel is separated, the larger sized pieces are used 
for the foundation, the medium sized pieces for the wearing course, 
and the smaller pieces and dust for the binder, as in regular mac¬ 
adam construction. If there is an excess of earth, sand, or clay, 
as is often the case, these can and should be removed by screening. 

An outfit consisting of a gasoline engine, hopper, elevator, re¬ 
volving screen, and medium size bins for three sizes of gravel will 
cost in the neighborhood of $1,200. For a small additional outlay 
a drum and cable may be attached to the engine with which to oper¬ 
ate a bucket conveyor to carry the gravel from the pit to the 
hopper. 

A platform built around the mouth of the hopper, with inclined 
wings so arranged that the teams may drive on and off the plat¬ 
form, will make it possible to deliver the gravel to the hopper with 
drag or wheel scrapers. A similar platform, with trap doors and 
sufficient space beneath for wagons to pass under it, is useful in 
pits where it is not necessary to screen the gravel. With such a 
platform, wheel and drag scrapers may be used in delivering the 
material from the pit to the platform, from which it is dumped 
automatically through the trapdoors to the wagons beneath. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


25 


There are many different methods of building gravel roads in 
use in various parts of the country. Most of them, however, are 
built without method or plan. Some fail because the material is 
poor, but the majority of the failures is due to the fact that the 
material is not properly applied to the surface. 

The following are the principal causes of failure. First: Poor 
material; round, water-worn gravel; too little binder or too much 
sand, earth, or clay. Second : Unstable foundations ; placing gravel 
on surfaces filled with ruts and holes. Third: Poor drainage; too 
flat, or too high in the middle; side ditches too deep or not deep 
enough; culverts which are too small, or which are laid so flat that 
they are soon filled with silt or trash. Fourth: Spreading gravel in 
dry weather; dumping it in piles and leaving it for the traffic to 
spread. Fifth: Making the road too narrow to accommodate the 
traffic, or so narrow that wagons will track and soon cut the surface 
into ruts. Sixth: Failure to keep ruts and holes filled with gravel . 

With good binding or cementing gravel satisfactory roads may 
be made by surfacing the prepared earth subgrade with one or two 
layers of this material. The earth road is first shaped with a road 
machine, and, if possible, rolled with an 8 or 10 ton roller. The earth 
foundation should be crowned but slightly. The material is spread 
in one, two, or three layers to a total depth of from 8 to 10 inches 
in the center and from 4 to 6 inches at the sides, gradually di¬ 
minishing in depth to a feather edge toward the side ditches. The 
depth of gravel will depend upon the traffic, and to some extent on 
the material, as well as the earth subgrade. 

If the material is spread in layers, then the coarser grade is placed 
for the foundation, and the finer grade for the wearing surface. 
In case screened gravel is used, the larger size pieces, those which 
will not pass a three-inch ring, should be thrown out or raked into 
the foundation course as the work progresses. 

Some varieties of gravel must be sprinkled and rolled before 
they will consolidate, while others bind well under ordinary traf¬ 
fic. Sometimes a good practice is to apply the gravel in wet weath¬ 
er, or to wet the gravel before it is applied to the road. In some 
cases a little clay or loam will hasten the binding process. Care 
should be taken, however, not to use too much clay or loam, as 
these will soften in wet weather. An excess of clay makes the road 
dusty in summer and muddy in winter. 

If it becomes necessary to build the road without a roller or 
sprinkler, the work should be done in the spring of the year before 
the rains have ceased. The traffic will pack the material much bet¬ 
ter then than in the summer or fall. The road machine or split-log 
drag may be used to advantage in removing ruts and filling holes 
while the road is green. A little attention while the road is green 
is better than much attention later, on the principle that an ounce 
of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

The width of the gravel road will depend upon traffic condi¬ 
tions. It should be surfaced to a width of at least 12 feet, and, if 
possible, to a width of from 14 to 16 feet. A narrow strip of gravel 


26 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


will wear out much more quickly than one which is a little wider. 
If the road is surfaced to a width of 16 feet, then the crown ought 
to be from 6 to 8 inches from the center to the outside edge of the 
gravel. This is sufficient for drainage. If the crown is higher 
than about an inch to the foot, the traffic will be forced to the center 
of the road and cause it to wear more quickly. 

Gravel roads are often built in the same manner as macadam 
roads; that is, the foundation is provided with shoulders and the 
material is spread in two or three layers of uniform thickness from 
center to sides. This method can be used to advantage where 
gravel is scarce, as the shoulders are composed of earth instead of 
gravel. 

In case gravel fails to bind or wear well, good results have been 
obtained by applying to the surface a thin layer of crushed rock 
screening, preferably trap. Several miles of the gravel roads in 
Rock Creek Park, Washington, D. C., are treated in this way. They 
look like macadam roads, and wear almost as well, but are very 
much cheaper. 

The suggestions as to drainage and culverts given in the paper 
on earth roads also apply to gravel roads. 

The split-log drag has been used with great success in maintain¬ 
ing gravel roads. There is a tendency on most gravel roads for 
the material to work toward the sides, forming shoulders, which 
prevent water from reaching the side ditches. The standing water 
thus held back softens the foundation, causing the surface to give 
way into ruts and holes. If the road is rolling, these shoulders 
sometimes cause the water to follow the wheel tracks and wash 
the surface into deep gullies. An occasional dragging will prevent 
the formation of such shoulders. 

The gravel road ought to have a little attention throughout the 
year, instead of a great deal of attention at one time. One hun¬ 
dred days’ labor, distributed throughout the year, applied on say 
5 miles of gravel road, will keep it in much better condition than 
the same amount of labor applied in a day or a week. 

No one who has observed the results will fill mudholes in gravel 
roads, or any kind of road for that matter, with large rocks or 
' boulders, yet there are probably more mudholes filled in this way 
than with gravel. After the mud has been removed, the holes 
should be filled with the same kind of gravel as that with which 
the road is surfaced. 

When the gravel is worked with a road machine, the sods and 
weeds are often left in windrows in the middle. These should be 
raked up and thrown into the adjacent field, or otherwise disposed 
of, as they retain moisture and cause lumps and holes if left on the 
road. 

The cost of building gravel roads varies greatly in different parts 
of the country, depending principally on the distance material is 
hauled and the cost of labor and teams. So far as can be ascer¬ 
tained, the average cost of building 19,900 miles of gravel road in 
Indiana was $1,473 per mile. The average cost of building 237 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


27 


miles of gravel roads in New Jersey was $2,425 per mile. The New 
Jersey roads were surfaced to an average width of 15.3 feet and an 
average depth of 8.4 inches. The average cost of building 70 miles 
in Connecticut was $3,741 per mile. The Connecticut roads were 
surfaced to an average width of 15.5 feet and to a depth of 8.3 
inches. 

From these figures it appears that gravel roads in Connecticut 
cost about twice as much as the gravel roads of Indiana. A closer 
scrutiny of the Indiana figures, however, reveals the fact that the 
cost in that state varies from $300 to $3,500 per mile. Most of the 
gravel roads in Indiana are built by the farmers in working out 
their taxes, which is not a very satisfactory method of road build¬ 
ing. The material is usually spread on the rough, unprepared sur¬ 
face to a depth of from 8 to 12 inches and to a width of from 9 to 
14 feet, and is then left for traffic to spread and consolidate. The 
gravel roads of Connecticut, however, are built under the direction 
of the State Highway Commissioner, who is an experienced high¬ 
way engineer. The material is well selected, spread on a prepared 
foundation, and properly consolidated. While Connecticut gravel 
roads may cost twice as much as those of Indiana, they are un¬ 
doubtedly twice as good and are worth what they cost. 

The average cost of maintenance will vary as much as the cost 
of construction, and will depend, not only on the quality of ma¬ 
terial used, but also on the method of construction as well as the 
volume of traffic. The average cost of maintaining 19,900 miles of 
gravel road in Indiana, which had been built over five years, was 
about $90 per mile per annum. 

While the original cost of stone roads per mile in Indiana was 
nearly doubly the cost of gravel roads, the cost of maintenance per 
mile per annum was about one-half. If the original cost of con¬ 
struction is added to the cost of maintenance for 20 years, it will 
be seen that Indiana gravel roads have cost about as much as the 
stone roads. The facts emphasize the importance of testing the 
relative wearing quality of all available materials before large 
amounts of money are expended in road building. 


CREOSOTED WOOD BLOCK STREET PAVING. 

“Wood Block Pavements” was the subject allotted to Mr. An¬ 
drew Rinker, of Minnesota, after which the delegates adjourned for 
lunch. 

Paper by Andrew Rinker. 

In preparing this paper, I shall not attempt to cover the subject 
of Street Paving generally, but confine it more particularly to 
the Creosoted Wood Block Street Paving as relates to our investi¬ 
gations of the subject and the experience obtained by its adoption 


28 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


and use in the city of Minneapolis during the past eight years— 
1902 to 1909, inclusive. 

The first of what might be termed the Modern Creosoted Wood 
Block Street Pavement was laid in this city during the season of 
1902 on Tenth Street South, at that time considered a residence 
street, although, after being paved, developed into a street of con¬ 
siderable heavy traffic. At that time very little paving of this 
character had been laid in the United States, and our means of 
determining its relative merits as to durability, desirability, cost, etc., 
with that of other kinds of pavement, were rather limited. Indian¬ 
apolis, which was practically the “pioneer city” in its adoption, had 
some of it. A small portion of Michigan Boulevard, in front of the 
Auditorium Hotel, and the Rush Street Bridge, in Chicago, were 
paved with it, practically for experimental purposes. The treat¬ 
ment of the Indianapolis blocks for the first few years after the 
adoption of the creosoted block paving consisted only of a dipping 
or natural absorption process; there being no pressure used to 
increase penetration of oil, and the timber used being Washington 
red cedar. 

The writer is informed that the photographs that have been given 
wide circulation throughout the country, showing a buckling of 
the so-called creosoted block paving in that city, due to expansion 
and contraction, is practically all of the dipped block variety; that 
the pavement laid during more recent years, treated under the 
vacuum and pressure method with from 12 to 16 pounds of oil to 
the cubic foot, do not show such conditions; and that the photo¬ 
graphs are unfair representations of the up-to-date creosote paving 
in Indianapolis. 

The first pavement of this character laid in Minneapolis (that 
on Tenth Street South) is a long long-leaf Georgia pine block, 
with a treatment of about 12 pounds of oil per cubic foot. This 
pavement has now had seven years’ wear and shows very little 
deterioration. No repairs due to traffic conditions have been neces¬ 
sary, and, if we can judge as to its lasting qualities from its present 
appearance, it will still be in good condition at the end of an addi¬ 
tional seven-year period. 

After 1902 the blocks used were principally Norway pine, with 
some tamarack. The city council adopted the Norway pine block 
for two reasons: One, that it was less expensive; the other, it was 
practically a local product, consisting of Minnesota and Wisconsin 
timber. It was also assumed that the cheaper and softer kinds of 
timber would give satisfactory results after treatment. It was on 
this theory that the United States Department of Agriculture, For¬ 
est Service, entered into negotiations with the city of Minneapolis 
and two of the creosoting companies to lay an experimental pave¬ 
ment in Minneapolis (as described in Circular No. 141 of the United 
States Agriculture Department). It might be well to state at this 
time that the department named has been severely criticised by 
parties interested in other kinds of street paving, on account of the 
publication of Circular No. 141, assuming that the Department of 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


29 


Agriculture had no right to exploit the creosote wood pavement as 
against other kinds. This seems to be an unjust criticism, as our 
understanding with the Forestry Bureau was that the experi¬ 
ments were to be made for the purpose of determining the relative 
merits of different kinds of wood, and whether the cheaper and 
softer woods, after treatment, would not prove satisfactory. This, 
undoubtedly, was the writer’s understanding of the object sought 
in making the experiment. 

As to this particular experimental pavement: During the re¬ 
maining 5 months of 1906 (August to December, inclusive) after 
the pavement was laid, and during the entire 12 months of 1907, 
records of travel were taken twice each month, and during the 
year 1908, once each month, all of them for 12-hour periods, from 
6 a. m. to 6 p. m. The tonnage included weight of horses and 
vehicles. A plan of Nicollet avenue roadway, showing the location, 
extent, and kind of blocks used, together with a tabulated statement 
of the record of travel on the experimental pavement are hereto 
attached. Where the letters and “W” appear in the table, the 
traffic consisted of sleds and wagons, as the pavement was covered 
with ice and snow during a portion of each winter. Owing to the 
fact that this experimental pavement has been in use less than 
three years, the writer does not feel warranted in concluding that 
the portions of it that appear to be in the best condition at the 
present time will continue to show the best results at the end of 
a period of 10 or 15 years. Its present condition, however, shows 
a preference for wood in the following order, viz.: Southern pine, 
Norway pine, tamarack, white birch, hemlock, Western larch, and 
red fir. Our experience leads us to believe that the streets should 
be classified as to traffic, and for the heaviest, such as Nicollet ave¬ 
nue, the long leaf Georgia pine gives the best results; for a medium 
heavy or light traffic, the Norway pine, tamarack, birch, or hem¬ 
lock would give good results. Much depends, however, on the 
proper selection of any of the timber used, as the slower growth, 
with not less than twelve rings to the inch, is better than the more 
rapid growth timber of the same kind. As to’ the Douglas fir, 
while our experiment does not prove satisfactory, it may be due 
largely to the fact that it is of the quick growth variety. Had it 
been a slower growth, closer fibered fir, the results would doubtless 
have been as satisfactory as that of the Norway pine, tamarack, or 
hemlock. 

Concerning the experience of Minneapolis, generally speaking, 
the creosoted wood block paving has proven satisfactory, not only 
from an engineering point of view, but also from that of the prop¬ 
erty owner and taxpayer, who has it to pay for. 

Our city charter and ordinances do not require the city authori¬ 
ties to pave a street with such material as the owners of a larger 
part of the abutting property may petition for or desire, yet during 
the past three years the desire of a very large majority of such 
owners has been to have their streets paved with creosoted block 
pavement, even at a. greater cost than that of other kinds. During 
the past four years, including 1909 orders, the percentage of creo- 


30 MODERN ROAD BUILDING 

soted block paving laid, as compared with all other kinds is as fol¬ 
lows, viz.: 

Year 1906..Creosoted block, 64%%, All other kinds, 45%. 

Year 1907. “ 58%. “ 42 %. 

Year 1908. “ 77%. “ 23%. 

Year 1909. “ 75%. “ 25%. 


The advantages in the adoption and use of this kind of pave¬ 
ment are that it is, comparatively speaking, a noiseless pavement, it 
is easily kept clean, the wear and tear on horses and vehicles is 
reduced to a minimum, it is antiseptic (on account of its impregna¬ 
tion with creosote oil), and its traction resistance is slight. 

Some of the objections that we hear against it are that, if prop¬ 
erly laid with hard woods it becomes slippery, and that it buckles 
or heaves on account of expansion. As to these arguments, the 
writer’s experience in connection with the laying of nearly half a 
million square yards of it during the past six years is a sufficient 
justification for the statement that such conditions are not common 
in Minneapolis ; that, when this kind of pavement is slippery, it is 
due to weather conditions (sleet and glare ice), that have the same 
effect on other kinds of street pavements; and the only raising of 
blocks from their beds is along the rails of street railway tracks, 
where water has penetrated and frozen. This latter condition pre¬ 
vails to a limited extent, and by proper methods of construction 
can be entirely avoided. 

The diagram showing in miles the different kinds of street pave¬ 
ments in the city of Minneapolis for each year, calculated on a basis 
of 27 feet average width of roadway, together with the traffic tables 
and plan heretofore referred to and hereto appended, are taken 
from the annual reports and the official records of the City En¬ 
gineer. 

The specifications hereto attached are for blocks delivered f. o. b. 
cars in the city of Minneapolis, at points as convenient as possible 
to the streets to be paved; the city unloading and delivering the 
blocks. 

The city of Minneapolis does its own work of grading, putting in 
the concrete foundation, and laying the blocks, by day labor and 
not by contract. 

The prices of labor, teams, etc., are as follows, viz.: 

Bay of Eight Hours. 

Teams, $4.00 (50 cents per hour), per day. 

Superintendent, $5.00 per day. 

Foreman, $3.50 and $4.00 per day. 

Engineer of steam roller, $3.60 per day. 

Block layers, $2.50 per day. 

Common laborers, $2.00 per day. 

Bed man, $3.00 per day. 

In addition to the above, we have a chemist at the treating plant, 
who is paid $3.00 per day every day (including Sundays and holi¬ 
days) during the season. Receiving clerks, who receive materials, 
are paid $3.00 per day for each day they work. 






MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


31 


Specifications for Creosoted Wood Paving Blocks, Minneapolis, 

Minn. 190—. 


Approximate quantity, 


square yards or any part thereof. 


Section No. 1. 
Work to be 
Done. 


Section No. 2. 
Kind, Size, and 
Quality of 
Blocks. 


Section No. 3. 
Quality, Treat¬ 
ment. 

Section No. 4. 
Oil, Analysis, 
Distillation. 


The work to be done under these specifications is the fur¬ 
nishing and delivering, f. o. b. cars Minneapolis, creosoted 
wood paving blocks to be used in paving during the season of 
190—. 

The blocks to be furnished must be 4 inches in depth (par¬ 
allel to the fiber) 4 inches in width and 5 inches to 10 inches 
in length, but must average 8 inches in length. They shall be 
perfectly rectangular, of a uniform depth and thickness, free 
from excessive sap wood, rot, cracks, checks, worm or knot 
holes, or other injurious defects affecting the life of the block 
or the laying of the same, and shall he made of sufficiently 
dry and well seasoned material to admit of proper treatment, 
as hereinafter specified. The blocks may be either long leaf, 
yellow or Georgia pine, Norway pine, or tamarack, but all 
blocks on any one piece of work shall be of the same kind of 
timber. No second growth timber will be accepted. Reason¬ 
able allowances to be made for saw cuts and shrinkage in 
above-mentioned sizes. 

The blocks shall be so treated that the pores of the wood 
shall be entirely impregnated with the creosoting material, 
making it impervious to water and preventing decay. 

The oil to be used in the treatment of the blocks shall be 
a pure heavy creosote oil, obtained from the distillation of 
coal tar, only, and of the following quality: 

(a) The specific gravity of the oil shall be at least 1.12 at 
a temperature of 20 degrees centigrade. 

(b) It shall be completely liquid at 25 degrees centigrade and 
show no deposit on cooling to 22 degrees centigrade. 

(c) It shall not contain more than 3% of matter insoluble in 
benzine. 

(d) It shall be subjected to a distillation test, as specified be¬ 
low, and shall conform to the following requirements: 100 
grains of oil shall be placed in an 8 oz. retort, fitted with a 
thermometer, the bottom of the bulb of which shall be placed 
y 2 inch above the oil and not moved during the test. The dis¬ 
charge opening of the retort shall be from 20 to 24 inches 
from the bulb of the thermometer and the retort shall be cov¬ 
ered so as to prevent too rapid radiation. The percentages are 
for dry oil and by weight. The average of a number of tests 
shall show a mean of these percentages. 

Up to 150 degrees centigrade, nothing must come oft. 


4 < 

171 

U 

0% 

to 0.5%, 

H 

210 

n 

3% 

to 6%. 

ii 

235 

it 

10% 

to 20%. 

a 

315 

u 

35% 

to 45%. 

a 

355 

a 

45% 

to 55%. 


The distillation shall be gradual, and up to 315 degrees centi¬ 
grade should be completed in 30 minutes from the first drop, 
and should be fully completed in 40 minutes. Thermometer 
readings to be corrected for emergent stem. 

(e) In the process of treatment of the blocks, not more than 
2% of water will be allowed. The distillate from 170 degrees 
to 210 degrees centigrade, will be approximately tar acids, and 
from 210 to 235 degrees centigrade, will be approximately 
napthaline. 



32 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


Section No. 5. 
Impregnation. 


Section No. 6. 
Delivery. 


Section No. 7. 
Inspection. 


Section No. 8. 
Final Inspec¬ 
tion ; Rejec¬ 
tion. 


Section No. 9. 
Proposals. 


Section No. 10. 
Specials. 


Section No. 11. 
City Treasur¬ 
er’s Receipt. 


Section No. 12. 
Bond. 


After the blocks shall have been made of the specified kind 
of material and all the defective blocks have been removed, 
they shall be placed in an air-tight chamber, where by the use 
of heat and vacuum, all of the sap and moisture shall be re¬ 
moved. The vacuum shall be from 20 to 20 inches and the 
heat shall not be carried to such an extent as to injure, in any 
manner, the fiber of the blocks. While the chamber is under 
vacuum, the creosoting mixture, of the quality as before speci¬ 
fied, and heated to a proper temperature, shall be admitted 
and pressure added until at least 100 pounds per square inch 
is reached and maintained, until the blocks have absorbed at 
least 1G pounds of the mixture for each cubic foot of timber, 
and until the creosoting mixture shall have entirely impreg¬ 
nated all parts of each and every block. The contractor may 
use any practicable and approved method of treatment, but 
the results must be the same, viz., putting into each cubic foot 
of wood 16 pounds of the oil as above specified, without injury 
to the fiber of the wood. 

The blocks shall be furnished in such quantities and at such 
times as the city engineer may direct, and, if so directed, the 
contractor shall furnish 1,000 square yards per day. Any ex¬ 
tra cost or damage occurring by the failure of the contractor 
to deliver the blocks as ordered by the city engineer shall be 
charged to the contractor and deducted from any moneys due, 
or that may become due, said contractor. 

All blocks, material, oils, and labor, shall be subject to the 
inspection of the city engineer and shall be done to his entire 
satisfaction and approval.’ The contractor shall furnish all 
the facilities for the proper inspection of all such material and 
the measurement of the same. If the blocks shall be made 
outside of the city of Minneapolis, the contractor shall pay all 
the legitimate expenses, salary excepted, caused by the placing 
and keeping of an inspector at the plant; and the price bid 
shall include all such expenses. 

Final inspection of the blocks will be made on the street, 
and any blocks rejected shall be removed by the contractor, at 
his own expense. If such rejected blocks are not removed 
within five days after due notice by the city engineer, then the 
said city engineer shall cause said rejected blocks to be re¬ 
moved, and any cost or expense of such removal shall be de¬ 
ducted from any moneys due, or that may become due, the 
contractor. 

Bidders, in their proposals, will state a price per square 
yard, street measurement, for the kind of creosote blocks they 
propose to furnish. 

If, on account of any paving along the rails of the street 
railway track, it will become necessary to use a special block, 
or to use a filling strip under the head of the rail, the con¬ 
tractor will state a price per square yard for such special block 
or a price per lineal foot for a creosoted pine board 1 y 8 inch 
by 2 y 2 inches. 

A city treasurer’s receipt, showing the deposit of the sum 

of $--•» conditioned upon the execution of the contract, 

within ten days after the award of the same, must accompany 
each proposal. 

A bond in the full amount of the contract for the use of the 
city of Minneapolis, and of all persons doing work or furnish¬ 
ing skill, tools, machinery, or material, under or for the pur¬ 
pose of such contract, conditioned according to section No. 
4335, Revised Laws of Minnesota for 1905, and for the full and 
satisfactory completion of the contract and to indemnify the 
city of Minneapolis from any damage that may arise on ac¬ 
count of any negligence on the part of the contractor, or his 












































































































































































































































































, 






































































. 



























































FIGURE 1. EGYPTIAN STONE BEAM BRIDGE. 



FIGURE 2. 

BABYLONIAN ARCH OF BRICK 
AT NIPPUR. 



FIGURE 6. 

MILL CREEK SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 



FIGURE 3. CAESAR’S BRIDGE 



































































































MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


33 


employes, and the payment of all just claims, will be required 
of the contractor at the time of the execution of the contract. 
The bond to be approved by the proper city officers, signing and 
couhtersigning the contract. 

The work will be paid for on monthly estimates of the city 
engineer, reserving 10% until the final completion of the work. 

The city of Minneapolis reserves the right to accept or reject 
any or all bids or any portion of any bid. 


AFTERNOON SESSION, at 2:00 p.m. 


BRIDGES OF STONE, CONCRETE, AND STEEL. 

Mr. Charles Evan Fowler, of Seattle, gave an interesting lecture 
on Bridges, illustrated with stereopticon views of many famous 
structures in the United States and Europe. His paper is given 
herewith. 

Paper by Charles Evan Fowler, M. Am. Soc. C. E., 

M. Can. Soc. C. E. 

The construction of bridges for carrying traffic across streams 
dates back to early historical times, and it is also true that natural 
and primitive bridges were used before history was recorded; the 
earliest types being the fallen log and the hanging vines, which 
were used by our Darwinian ancestors as a means of crossing the 
rivers. The earliest structures which could properly be termed 
bridges were the stone beams, similar to the one shown in Fig. 1, 
which were used by the Egyptians and other ancients for crossing 
small gulches. 

The earliest known arch (Fig. 2) is one which was discovered in 
the ruins of Babylon, and which dates back to about the year 4000 
B. C. This was doubtless the prototype of the old masonry Persian 
bridges, most of which had arches of Gothic outline. The Chinese 
have used stone arches for many thousands of years, and the Jap¬ 
anese were doubtless among the first to use structures of the canti¬ 
lever type, such as the bridge in the province of Etchin, Japan. A 
curious type of structure, partly cantilever and partly suspension, 
constructed of bamboo, is used in Java. 

Caesar’s bridge across the Rhine, one of the most famous of 
early structures (Fig. 3), was nothing more than a pile bridge, 
while Trajan’s famous bridge was a very great advance over this, 
being a more permanent type of timber arched spans. 


Section No. 13. 
Payments. 

Section No. 14. 
Acceptance and 
Rejection of 
Bids. 



34 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


In connection with the wonderful highways built by the Romans 
in the various parts of the Roman Empire, stone bridges were con¬ 
structed, many of which are in use to this day; the well-known 
bridge of Augustus being a splendid example of the solid construc¬ 
tion employed. 

The first truss bridge was probably a simple structure, consist¬ 
ing of no more than two members, forming an “A” truss, or 
simply of rafters, such as were used in buildings. The evolution 
of the modern truss bridge from this can be readily traced, and the 
many early truss bridges constructed of timber in the United States 
represent the greatest development of this class of structures, until 
metal began to be used. The wooden bowstring arch over the Sci¬ 
oto river at Chillicothe, Ohio (Fig. 4), is a splendid example of 
the thorough way in which these bridges were built; this one hav¬ 
ing lasted for 70 years, or until it was replaced by a modern steel 
bridge. 

Modern roadway bridges are of various types, consisting of sim¬ 
ple girders or culvert arches over small streams or openings; girder 
spans and arches of various materials for medium sized openings, 
and truss spans, arches, and suspension bridges for greater lengths. 
In many instances viaducts are employed, where ravines, valleys, 
or canons are to be crossed, the simplest of which is the familiar 
timber trestle of piling or frame bents. Where a more lasting struc¬ 
ture is required, steel viaducts are used, or viaducts built of arched 
construction in which steel, stone, and concrete are employed. 

Modern roadway bridges should be constructed, not only with 
reference to their engineering features, but also as works of archi¬ 
tecture. Where the spans are short, and girders or simple arches 
used, but little attempt can be made toward the artistic; but the 
small stone arch (Fig. 5) constructed in Mill Creek Park, Youngs¬ 
town, Ohio, gives an idea of what may be done, even for very short 
spans, in making them pleasing, as well as answering the demands 
of traffic. Some of the smaller bridges of Japan and China, suitable 
only for passengers, are very ornamental, similar to the famous 
Camel-Back bridge in China. 

When spans are so short that it is not economical to use either 
steel girders or arches, stone beams similar to the primitive ones 
already spoken of may be used, or the modern type of reinforced 
concrete can be employed, carrying ornamental balustrades. 

Girders of somewhat longer span may also be constructed of rein¬ 
forced concrete, and the same materials used in constructing short 
arches, which can be made as ornamental as desired or as is possi¬ 
ble with the funds available. The 90-foot steel arch (Fig. 6) and 
a 90-foot steel eye-bar suspension built by the author in Mill Creek 
Park, Youngstown, Ohio, are examples of what can be done to make 
structures of this size ornamental. 

Where it is necessary to have through or overhead bridges to 
avoid obstructing the waterway, structures similar to the steel bridge 
constructed by the writer over the Scioto river in Ohio (Fig. 7), of two 
spans of 240 feet each, may be used, and the portals and bracing 
overhead made of solid and ornamental construction. A similar 



mm 















































: 




FIGURE 8. ARCHED CANTILEVER, KNOXVILLE, TENN. 


















FIGURE 9. EDEN PARK, CINCINNATI, OHIO. 















MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


35 


type of bridge may be seen in the Spring Common span of 175 feet 
in length at Youngstown, Ohio, which follows closely the European 
type of through roadway structures. 

Where there is sufficient waterway or height above the stream, 
it is advisable for architectural effect to employ arches and make 
the structures truly ornamental. The earliest use of metal for an 
arch of this kind is the one built at Coalbrookdale, in England, in 
1777, with a span of 100 feet and 6 inches. A modern structure 
of this type is the Market Street two-hinged plate girder arch at 
Youngstown, Ohio, with a span of 210 feet and a rise of 60 feet. 
This arch supports a paved roadway 40 feet in width and two side¬ 
walks of 10 feet each. The finest example in the world of this 
kind of a bridge is the famous Washington Bridge over the Harlem 
River in New York City. The two main spans are steel plate 
girder two-hinged arches, each 508 feet center to center of piers. 
The approaches, piers, parapets, and balustrades are of the most 
elegant design. 

Where there are several spans and sufficient height, a series of 
arches may be employed, as was done by the writer at Knoxville, Tenn., 
where a stone bridge was proposed, but steel finally employed, on ac¬ 
count of the expenditure necessary for the stone bridge being too great. 
The Knoxville bridge (Fig. 8) is of the arched cantilever type, and, 
with the exception of not being quite as stiff for traffic, answers 
the requirements in an artistic sense as well as a bridge of true 
arches would have done. It is a symmetrical structure, harmoni¬ 
ous, and complies with the fundamental artistic requirement of 
having an odd number of spans; an opening at the center being 
more pleasing in an aesthetic sense. The design of the proposed 
stone bridge, on the other hand, was for an 'unsymmetrical struc¬ 
ture with an even number of spans, and, while a striking design, 
was one which could have been very easily improved upon. 

The use of reinforced concrete for arch bridges is one of the 
greatest advances that has been made in engineering, as it makes 
possible the construction of artistic masonry structures at a com¬ 
paratively reasonable cost, or at very little, if any, excess in cost 
over first-class steel structures on masonry piers. 

The arched span in Eden Park, Cincinnati, Ohio (Fig. 9) while 
of only moderate length, is one of the most beautiful and effective 
designs that has been built anywhere in the United States. The 
construction is upon the Melan system, and is one of the first of 
this kind to be constructed in this country. 

Another beautiful bridge of reinforced concrete is the two-span 
structure at Reno, Nev., which is more simple in design, but also 
very pleasing. 

The bridge at Niagara, above the Falls, is of reinforced concrete 
faced with stone, and, while this is hardly to be defended from 
the standpoint of truthful architecture, inasmuch as it does not 
tell a true story of the construction, it is a very pleasing piece of 
work. 

Nowhere else in the world has the art of bridge building reached 
such a state of perfection as in France, and the bridges of Paris 


3G 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


are, most of them, remarkable structures and worthy of careful 
study. The most famous of these is the Pont Neuf, which was 
commenced in 1578, during the reign of Henry III, but was not 
completed until the year 1607. The spans are comparatively short, 
ranging from 31 to 62 feet in length, but the masonry is of the most 
solid type and very chaste design. The width of the bridge is 72 
feet, and it is virtually a street carried across the river. 

Many of the bridges in Paris and in France were constructed by 
Napoleon, there having been expended between the years 1804 and 
1813 nearly forty million francs for bridges alone; the bridge of 
Austerlitz costing three million francs. This was built to com¬ 
memorate Napoleon’s victory of the same name, and the structure 
is one of the most beautiful pieces of bridge architecture in exist¬ 
ence, having, to begin with, five, or an unequal number, of spans, 
with details of the most pleasing character and satisfactory in 
every way. 

The Chester-Dee bridge, with a span of 200 feet and a rise of 
42 feet, located at Chester, England, is one of the most notable 
stone bridges in the world. While a very long span for a stone 
bridge and of the most solid and careful construction, the design is 
very much marred by the paneling of the spandrels, which dwarfs 
the apparent size of the structure and is not at all applicable to a 
large bridge. 

The Luxembourg Arch was, at the time of its construction, the 
longest stone span that had even been built in the world; the length 
being 275.5 feet (Fig. 10). The design is a beautiful one, with very 
elegant and appropriate details, and the lines and effect of the en¬ 
tire design are greatly enhanced by the arched spandrels carrying 
the roadway. 

The Connecticut Avenue bridge in Washington, D. C. (Fig. 11), 
is another notable roadway bridge, not only on account of its 
beautiful design, but on account of the fact that it is of solid con¬ 
crete construction without reinforcement, and without stone facing 
or stone ornamentation of any kind. 

Whenever funds are available, as much ornamentation of the 
structure and of the entrances to it should be employed as is ap¬ 
propriate. Many of the bridges constructed by the Romans had 
entrance arches at either one or both ends, which were beautiful 
pieces of architectural work and very appropriate. One of the old¬ 
est of these was the bridge at St. Chamas, with an -arch or portal at 
each end of a classic design. 

The Elizabeth bridge over the Danube at Budapest is one of 
the handsomest of modern European bridges, being constructed 
with eye-bar cables and with a main span of slightly over 950 feet. 
The masonry towers, or gatehouses, over the anchorages, are of 
beautiful design and form a most pleasing entrance. 

The great arch bridge over the Rhine at Bonn, Germany, has en¬ 
trances or portals of very appropriate design, and portals of very 
elegant design and monumental in character at each end of the 
main span. 



FIGURE 10. LUXEMBOURG'S GREAT .STONE ARCH BRIDGE. 






























FIGURE 11. CONNECTICUT AVE. BRIDGE, WASHINGTON, D. C 
























MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


37 


The Memorial arch in Bushnell Park at Hartford, Conn., of 
similar design, forms the portal at one end of the stone arch bridge, 
and is one of the handsomest works of this class in the United 
States. 

Many suspension bridges have towers of elegant design, and the 
Cincinnati bridge, built by the elder Roebling, has towers very 
well designed and among the most satisfactory in this country. 
It is a curious fact, however, that both this and the great East 
River bridge, designed by the same engineer, are lacking in appro¬ 
priate capping or finishing of the towers; the attic story included 
in the original design of the East River bridge towers having never 
been built, and the unsatisfactory minarets covering the saddles of 
the Cincinnati bridge not being in harmony with the remainder of 
the towers. When the bridge was reconstructed, some years ago, 
these were removed and hemispherical caps used to replace them, 
but the appearance was only slightly improved. 

The foregoing examples are given to call forcible attention to the 
care that should be exercised in the design of the architectural 
features of bridges. Unless the engineer is entirely sure of his 
ground, an architect should be employed to assist in the design, or 
at least supervise the design, of the architectural portions of bridges 
of any prominence or importance. Even the parapets, balustrades, 
and railings should be designed with great care, and the balustrade 
and lamp posts of the Fergus Falls, Minn., bridge (Fig. 12) show 
how pleasing such parts of a bridge may be made. The simple con¬ 
crete parapet used by the author on the abutments of the Knoxville 
Cantilever were carefully designed with classic proportions and 
added greatly to the appearance of the entire structure. 

The entrances to the Connecticut Avenue bridge in Washington, 
D. C., already referred to, are flanked by lamp posts of beautiful 
design and huge concrete lions, which add to the monumental char¬ 
acter of this great structure. 

The practical design of bridges will not be taken up in detail in 
this paper, but it is fitting to call attention to the care which should 
be used in the engineering features. The foundations, being a 
most important feature, should be carefully located to insure perma¬ 
nence, the least possible interference with the waterway and navi¬ 
gation, and of as reasonable a cost as is consistent with the other 
features of the structure. 

Where the bottom is hard and at no very great depth, cofferdams 
can be used to construct the footings and base of the piers up to 
water level. 

Where the bottom is soft or of material liable to scour, piling 
must be used, or open dredged caissons or pneumatic caissons em¬ 
ployed. 

Each particular foundation must be designed with reference to 
the structure and load it is to carry; piers and abutments for arch 
spans requiring to be practically unyielding. 

Many of the bridges already referred to are illustrations of the 
possibilities of making of bridge piers architectural features of the 
M.R.B.—4 


38 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


structure, and the piers of the Blackwell’s Island or Queen s Bridge 
in New York City are examples of the artistic character of the 
piers of many of the modern bridges in this country. 

The foregoing discussion has referred principally to the archi¬ 
tectural features of bridge construction; it being assumed that a 
competent bridge engineer would be employed for any structure, to 
carefully calculate the stresses and proportion the parts. Therefore 
only the general engineering questions will be discussed. 

The types of bridge to be employed for different locations may be 
classified as follows: 

Spans under five feet in length, steel beams, stone beams, con¬ 
crete steel beams, or masonry culverts. 

Spans from five to twenty-five feet, steel beams, concrete steel 

beams, or masonry arches. . 

Spans from twenty-five to one hundred feet, steel girders, steel 
trusses, steel arches, or masonry arches. 

Spans from one hundred to three hundred feet, steel trusses, steel 
arches, steel suspension bridges, or masonry arches. 

Spans from three hundred to five hundred feet, steel trusses, 
arches, cantilevers, or suspension bridges. 

Spans from five hundred to one thousand feet, steel arches, canti¬ 
levers, or suspension bridges. 

Spans one thousand feet and upwards, steel cantilevers or suspen¬ 
sion bridges. 

The floors of bridges, which are the part of the structures con¬ 
tinuing the roadways over streams, are in their simplest forms 
simply wooden joist and plank flooring. The joist must be calcu¬ 
lated for the uniform load and also for concentrated loads to be 
carried, and they are usually spaced two feet center to center, and 
should'never be spaced wider apart in feet than the thickness of 
the plank in inches. 

The roadway plank should never be less than three inches in 
thickness, and as much thicker as is demanded to withstand the 
wear from the traffic to be carried, or a wearing surface may be 
placed over the first layer of plank. 

The use of steel joists with this type of floor (Fig. 13) forms the 
simplest kind of a bridge floor which may be said to be of a per¬ 
manent form. 

Where the plank has been creosoted, or treated with preserva¬ 
tive, and a pavement of wood blocks used, the floor should prove 
to be the best form that can be employed, where it is necessary to 
have a light and also a durable roadway. 

Steel joists or girders carrying buckle plate (Fig. 14) and a con¬ 
crete base, or concrete steel base without the buckle plate, may be 
paved with treated wood blocks, brick, concrete wearing surface, 
asphalt block, or sheet asphalt. 

Stone and arch bridges may have a roadway on the supporting 
arches of any of the permanent forms that have been mentioned. 

Floor systems must be calculated to carry their own weight, a 
uniform load, which is usually 100 pounds per square foot, and 


Rav/ng . 



FIGURE 13. WOOD BLOCK PAVEMENT ON PLANK. 









































































! 



I 


FIGURE 14. BUCKLE PLATE BRIDGE FLOOR. 





















































































































MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


39 


such a concentrated loading as they may be called upon to support, 
such as a traction engine, steam road roller, or electric cars. 

The structures or trusses must be proportioned to carry their 
own weight, a wind load, a snow load in some cases, temperature 
stresses, centrifugal force, when on a curve, and longitudinal or 
traction stresses. 

The live load per square foot to be carried by trusses may be 
taken from the following table; class A being city or suburban 
bridges, and class B being country bridges: 


Class 

Up to 100 feet, 
100 to 150 feet 
150 to 200 feet 
200 to 300 feet 
300 to 500 feet 


A 

B 

100 lbs. 

90 lbs. 

100 “ 

80 “ 

, 90 “ 

TO “ 

80 “ 

60 “ 

, TO “ 

50 “ 


Should either one of the two first-class general specifications for 
highway bridges be used in designing a bridge (Cooper’s or Thach- 
er’s), the loads provided for therein are proper ones to employ. 

The class of steel to be used in constructing short and medium 
length spans should be soft-medium, with an ultimate strength of 
from 55,000 to 65,000 pounds per square inch, and nothing more 
than fair reaming need be done in the shop. 

For medium length and long spans, medium steel should be used, 
having an ultimate strength of from 60,000 to 68,000 pounds per 
square inch; but for important bridges this should be punched and 
reamed, or have the holes drilled. 

For long spans, at least for compression members under great 
stress, high steel may be used and all rivet holes drilled. Nickel 
steel is also beginning to be used for long spans and members sub¬ 
jected to great stress. 

Stone bridges of short span may be built of some of the softer 
kinds of stone, such as sandstone or the more durable kinds of lime¬ 
stone, although harder kinds, such as marble or granite, are prefer¬ 
able. 

Stone bridges of medium or long span should be constructed of 
hard stone, such as iron limestone, marble, or granite. 

Reinforced concrete bridges should be constructed with the most 
careful workmanship and of the very best materials. The cement, 
whether imported or of local manufacture, must pass the require¬ 
ments of the American Society for Testing Materials. 

The inspection of the materials entering into the construction of 
a bridge and of the construction work as well should be carefully 
and conscientiously done, and always be placed in the hands of men 
who will not “strain at gnats and swallow camels.” The inspector 
must bear in mind that he is the one to see that both his employer 
and the contractor get justice. 

When the conditions met with vary from those contemplated by 
the plans and specifications, in justice to both the employer and the 
contractor, the inspector should request the engineer to make such 







40 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


changes as are just and equitable to the contractor, iand at the same 
time see that no injury be worked upon the owner. 

No more fitting words can be used in closing this paper than to 
quote the foreword from Cooper’s Specifications: 

“The most perfect system of rules to insure success must be interpreted upon 
the broad grounds of professional intelligence and common sense.” 


PORTLAND CEMENT, ITS MANUFACTURE AND USE. 

In the absence of Spencer B. Newberry, of Ohio, his paper on 
“Portland Cement, Its Manufacture and Use,” was read by City 
Engineer R. H. Thomson, of Seattle, who prefaced the reading by 
saying that the paper was by Professor Newberry, and it must not 
be taken for granted that all the statements contained therein relating 
to the use of cement for a road surface were concurred in by the 
reader. 


Paper by S. B. Newberry. 

Gentlemen: 

The beginning of the twentieth century is often spoken of as the 
opening of the “Cement Age,” owing to the belief, held by many 
thoughtful obeservers, that cement is destined to be our most im¬ 
portant and widespread building material. Certainly the phenom¬ 
enal growth of Portland cement manufacture in this country, from 
one-half million barrels in 1890 to fifty million barrels in 1908, and 
the evidences we see all about us of the adoption of cement con¬ 
crete, in place of stone, brick, and wood, for abutments, founda¬ 
tions, bridges, and complete buildings, show that cement is making 
rapid strides toward a position of leading importance among ma¬ 
terials of construction. 

The reasons for this successful progress are evident. Cement is 
the “essence of rock” in portable form. A relatively small pro¬ 
portion of it suffices to bind together any available fragmentary 
materials, sand, gravel, slag, stone refuse, into solid masses of any 
desired shape, and of strength and hardness comparable with that 
of monolithic blocks of quarried limestone. Where good gravel is 
obtainable at low cost, walls can be laid up in cement concrete at 
lower cost than of lumber or common red brick. With steel rein¬ 
forcement it gives a combination which shows to best advantage 
the good qualities of both materials. Within the past few years, 
great progress has been made in the beauty and architectural char¬ 
acter of concrete structures, and there are now many edifices of 
concrete which rival in beauty the best examples of construction 
in sandstone and marble. 

This is especially the case on the Pacific Coast, and there is no 
doubt that Western architects have taught the world a lesson on 
the artistic possibilities of concrete. The excellent showing which 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


41 


cement has made in recent great fires and earthquakes has also 
greatly increased its use for building. The city of Port of Spain, 
Trinidad, destroyed two years ago, is being rapidly rebuilt, almost 
exclusively of concrete structures, and nearly as marked a tendency 
toward concrete is to be seen in the new San Francisco. 

Striking as these growing architectural uses may appear, much 
greater amounts of cement are consumed in work in which beauty 
is of secondary consequence, as in wharves, sea walls, breakwaters, 
locks and dams, and in tunnels, abutments, and foundations of 
bridges. A multitude of smaller uses, on farms and in dwellings 
and factories, aid still further in absorbing the output of the ninety 
operating cement works of the country. 

In view of the magnitude which the industry has so rapidly at¬ 
tained, it may be that a brief explanation of the process of manu¬ 
facture of cement, and the manner in which it is tested and used, 
will be of interest to the members of the Good Roads Association. 

Hydraulic cements are materials in the form of dry powder, 
which, when mixed with water, solidify and harden to a stonelike 
mass. 

You all know that ordinary lime hardens only by drying out, and 
remains soft if kept under water. The Romans found, however, 
that certain kinds of volcanic scoria, called “pozzuolana,” had the 
property of making lime hydraulic. Mixtures of lime and pozzuo- 
lana were therefore used by the Romans in important engineering 
works, many of which are in good preservation to-day; for example, 
the dome of the Pantheon at Rome, a monolithic mass of concrete 
over a hundred feet in diameter. 

In recent years it has been found that blast furnace slag acts like 
a pozzuolana, and slag cements have been made on a considerable 
scale by simply grinding granulated slag with slaked lime. 

When Smeaton built the Eddystone lighthouse, off the coast of 
England, in 1756, he made his mortar by mixing lime and Italian 
pozzuolana, and . in preparation for this work he made a series of 
experiments to determine why certain kinds of lime gave better 
results in water than others. He found that limestone which on 
dissolving in acid left a considerable insoluble residue gave lime 
of the best water-hardening quality, and identified this insoluble 
residue as clay, thus showing that the combination of clay and lime, 
by burning, is the source of hydraulic properties. He wrote in his 
journal: “I did not doubt but to make a cement that would equal 
the best merchantable Portland stone in solidity and durability.” 
This remark of Smeaton is often quoted as the probable source of 
the term “Portland cement.” 

Soon- after the publication of these experiments, at the end of 
the eighteenth century, the manufacture of “Roman cement” was 
begun in England, by burning calcareous clay nodules found on the 
coast of Kent. These nodules contain carbonate of lime mixed with 
so large a proportion of clay that after calcination they do not slake 
with water, but on grinding to powder they form a quick-setting 
natural cement. The calcination must be carried on at low heat, 
as at higher temperature the large amount of clay present causes 


42 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


the clinker to melt to a slag, which has no cementing properties. 
Similar natural cement was made in France at about the same time, 
and has been manufactured on a great scale at or near Louisville, 
Rosendale, Milwaukee, and at other points in this country. Owing 
to the abundance, cheapness, and superiority of Portland cement, 
however, the manufacture of natural cements has greatly declined 
in the past few years, and is now comparatively insignificant. 

In the earlier years of the last century the importance of exact 
proportions of lime and clay, to produce cement of highest quality, 
gradually became realized, and in 1827 Aspdin began the manu¬ 
facture in England of ‘'Portland cement” from an artificial mixture 
of lime or limestone and clay. Other makers gradually improved 
the quality of the product, and the industry became an important 
and rapidly increasing one, in England and Germany, from about 
1850. It was found that mixtures containing certain proportions, 
usually about 25 parts clay and 75 parts carbonate of lime, could be 
burned at high white heat without melting, and on grinding the 
resulting clinker, a sound, slow-setting, and extremely strong ce¬ 
ment was obtained. Mixtures higher in lime yielded cement which 
swelled and cracked with water, while mixtures higher in clay fused 
and lost their hydraulic properties at high temperature, though by 
burning at lower heat inferior, quick-setting cement, similar to 
natural cement, was produced. It required many years to perfect 
the chemical control of the mixture and to develop the manufac¬ 
turing processes of raw grinding to necessary great fineness, burn¬ 
ing, and grinding of the finished product, to the point of produc¬ 
tion of cement of uniform and high quality. Improvement in econo¬ 
my of manufacture and quality of product is, in fact, still going on, 
though at the leading works in this country and Europe the process 
has been brought to so systematic a basis that further improve¬ 
ments must necessarily be slow and gradual. 

The successful manufacture of Portland cement began in this 
country at Coplay, Pa., in 1878, but no important production took 
place until after 1890. Up to that time all Portland cement was 
burned in vertical kilns, similar to lime kilns. This process re¬ 
quired the raw mixture to be molded into bricks and dried before 
burning, and the economical in fuel was expensive in labor. 

With the high rate of wages in this country, therefore, Ameri¬ 
can manufacturers could hardly compete with those of Europe. A 
remedy was found in the rotary kiln for cement burning, which 
had been tried in England in 1885, but abandoned. This consists 
of a revolving steel cylinder, slightly inclined and lined with fire 
brick, heated by a flame entering at the lower end, into which the 
powdered cement mixture is continually fed at the upper end, and 
in its passage through the kiln is brought to a white heat and con¬ 
tinuously discharged at the lower end as well-burned clinker. The 
rotary kiln was soon brought to complete success in this country, 
and with crude petroleum as fuel proved so great a labor-saving 
device that cement could be made with profit. From that time on 
the industry increased with great speed. Coal dust was soon sub¬ 
stituted for crude oil as fuel, and the size of kilns was steadily in- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


43 


creased, from 5 or 6 by 60 feet, to the present usual size of 8 by 100 
or 120 feet. At two Eastern works, in fact, kilns 12 by 230 feet are 
now being built. 

We may, then, classify hydraulic cements as follows: 

1. Pozzuolana or slag cement, made by grinding volcanic scoria 
or slag with dry slaked lime. 

2. Natural cement, made by calcining natural limestone contain¬ 
ing a high proportion of clay at low heat, and grinding the calcined 
stone to powder. 

3. Portland cement, made from an artificial mixture of limestone 
or marl with clay or shale, in exactly correct proportions, burning 
the mixture at a white heat, and grinding the resulting clinker to 
powder. 

The materials from which Portland cement is made are: 

1. Carbonate of lime, in the form of limestone, chalk, or marl; 

2. Clay or shale. 

These materials are found in abundance in nearly all parts of the 
United States. The only important requirements as to composition 
are that the stone shall be nearly free from magnesia and the clay 
or shale relatively high in silica. In some localities, notably in the 
Lehigh valley, in Pennsylvania, clay-bearing limestones of nearly 
correct composition for cement are found, and it is there necessary 
only to select the strata and grind them together in the right pro¬ 
portion. If stone of exactly correct composition could be found, 
this could be made into cement clinker by simply quarrying and 
burning. When it is understood, however, that a variation of 1 
per cent, in carbonate of lime from the correct standard is sufficient 
to spoil the resulting cement, it will be realized that deposits of 
such exact and uniform composition are not to be expected in na¬ 
ture, and that it is in all cases necessary to prepare artificial mix¬ 
tures to obtain the result desired. In most parts of the country, 
limestone, more or less pure, and clay or shale, are the materials 
employed. 

The process of manufacture of Portland cement, as carried on at 
the best modern plants, will now be briefly described. 

The stone is quarried, crushed, and dried. The clay or shale is 
dried and broken up, and the two materials, under the supervision 
of the chemist, mixed in exactly correct proportions. The mixture 
is then ground to impalpable powder, usually in two or three op¬ 
erations, in ball mills and tube mills, and this is the part of the 
process requiring the greatest amount of machinery and power, 
and on its thoroughness the quality of the product largely depends. 
Sound cement cannot, generally, be made by burning mixtures 
coarser than 98 per cent, passing a sieve of 100 meshes to the linear 
inch. A plant making 2,000 barrels of cement per day uses about 
600 tons, daily, of raw material, and it will be appreciated that to 
grind this amount of hard limestone and shale to the fineness of 
flour is a serious undertaking. 

The prepared raw material is now fed into the revolving kilns. 
These are heated internally to a white heat by jets of coal dust and 
air, blown in at the lower end. The raw material as it passes 


44 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


through the kiln is gradually heated to redness and balls up into 
little rounded masses. These become white hot at the zone of high¬ 
est temperature, and are finally discharged as clinker, which on 
cooling appears like fine black gravel of the size of corn. This 
clinker now goes to the grinding mill, where another series of ball 
and tube mills reduce it to a gray powder, of such fineness that 92 
to 94 per cent, passes a 100-mesh sieve. This is the finished Port¬ 
land cement. 

This appears to be a simple process, and yet the excellence of the 
product depends upon the close observance of certain rules and 
precautions. Good Portland cement should be slow-setting; that is, 
when mixed with water to a stiff paste, made into a thin-edged pat 
or cake on a piece of glass, and kept under a damp cloth, it should 
not set, so as not to be marked with the finger-nail, in less than two 
or three hours. After setting it should increase rapidly in hardness, 
and within twenty-four hours should be with difficulty scratched 
with the point of a knife. Such a pat, kept in water for a month, 
or exposed for five hours to steam over boiling water, should still 
remain hard, and show no sign of expansion cracks around the 
edges. If the pat sets within a few minutes, or if it softens in 
steam or water and shows expansion cracks, the cement is defect¬ 
ive, and may make serious trouble in use. 

Now, let me tell you, in a few words, what are the chief errors in 
the process of manufacture which may produce the defective quality 
above described. 

These are: 

1. Incorrect proportions of lime and clay. The more lime a 
cement contains, up to a certain point , provided the raw grinding 
and burning are properly done, the better and stronger it will be. 
This point may be determined exactly, from analysis of the mate¬ 
rials, by certain well-known formulas, and the problem which the 
cement chemist has to solve is to keep his mixture as close to this 
lime limit as possible, without ever exceeding it. Even one-half 
per cent, of lime more than this limit allows will make the cement 
unsound; that is, it will swell and crack after setting. ' Such cement 
would be highly dangerous to use, especially as its expansion may 
take place some days or even weeks after it has been put in place 
in a bridge, foundation, or building, perhaps causing collapse of the 
structure. Eortunately the cold pat test in water for 28 days, or 
the boiling test in steam for 5 hours, is a certain means of detecting 
this defect, and cement which passes either of these tests may 
safely be considered sound, and used without fear in the most crit¬ 
ical work. On the other hand, if the lime in the mixture is too low, 
perhaps two per cent, below the lime limit, the cement is liable to 
prove quick-setting and low in strength. Cement chemists gen¬ 
erally, therefore, hold their mixtures at one-half or one per cent, 
below the limit, and at well-conducted factories the variation in 
lime will hardly exceed one-fourth per cent, either way from the 
standard chosen as correct. 

Lest there may be some well-posted cement man here who will 
think I am speaking too positively on this point, I will qualify the 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


45 


above statements by saying that different materials vary consid¬ 
erably in amount of allowable variation. Clays high in silica and 
low in alumina and iron, for example, permit much wider variation 
in proportion of lime than clays of more aluminous composition. 

To explain this fully would take us further into the domain of 
cement chemistry than you would have patience to go to-day. 

2. Coarse grinding of raw material. In the burning of cement 
mixtures, the materials are not fused, but merely brought at a 
white heat to a sintered or softened condition. In revolving kilns, 
also, the passage through the zone of high heat takes place in 15 
minutes or less. It is plain, therefore, that the materials must be 
very finely divided, in order that each particle of lime may find 
within easy reach the particle of clay it needs, and that the com¬ 
bination of the two materials may be uniform and complete. If 
coarsely ground, the fine particles of lime will combine with all 
the clay, producing an over-clayed compound, while the coarse 
particles of lime remain free, and give rise to dangerous expansion. 
A coarsely ground mix will therefore yield cement having, at the 
same time, the faults of that made from an over-clayed and an 
over-limed mixture; that is, it may be quick-setting, weak, and 
unsound. It may safely be said that imperfect grinding of raw ma¬ 
terial is the source of more faulty cement than all other causes com¬ 
bined. 

3. Imperfect burning. Well-burned clinker is black, hard, and 
glistening; underburned clinker is brownish and comparatively 
soft. Underburning may make cement quick-setting and unsound. 
It should be said, however, that this fault is of rare occurrence, and 
that correctly proportioned and well-ground raw material may be 
light-burned without injury to quality. 

4. Imperfect final grinding. Coarsely ground cement may be 
slow in hardening and show low strength, especially when mixed 
with sand. Fine grinding increases the sand-carrying capacity of 
cement, and improves its strength, especially at short periods. 
There is such a thing, however, as grinding cement too fine, and thus 
making it quick-setting, and causing it to gain strength too rapidly. 

Engineers generally require a gradual increase of strength, and 
look suspiciously on cement which does not show a good gain be¬ 
tween seven and twenty-eight days. This requirement is difficult 
to meet with extreme fineness of grinding, as a very finely ground 
cement may gain practically its whole strength within seven days 
or less. The usual requirement of 92 per cent, passing a 100-mesh 
sieve is a reasonable one, and the best brands generally exceed this 
figure by one or two per cent. 

To resume, badness of cement is generally caused by imperfect 
mixing and grinding of the raw material before burning, less often 
by incorrect proportions of raw materials, and rarely by imperfect 
burning or final grinding. 

The testing of cement can, of course, be completely carried out 
only in well-equipped laboratories. A few years ago there was 
little uniformity and much confusion in methods of testing; but 
the labors of the Committee on Uniform Tests of Cement, of the 


4G 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


American Society of Civil Engineers, have resulted in the estab¬ 
lishment of well-defined rules and methods which are now closely 
followed by engineers throughout the country. The report of this 
committee, and also the Standard Specifications for. cement, estab¬ 
lished by the American Society for Testing Materials, have been 
published in pamphlet form by the Association of Portland Cement 
Manufacturers (Land Title Bldg., Philadelphia), and will be gladly 
mailed on request. 

The ordinary tests are the determinations of fineness, time of 
setting, soundness or constancy of volume, and strength. The first 
three tests have been briefly described in the foregoing. Strength 
is determined by making briquettes of neat cement, or cement and 
sand, one to three, one square inch in smallest section, and, after 
hardening one day in moist air and the remaining time in water, 
these are pulled apart at 7 days, 28 days, and longer periods, by 
means of a simple testing machine. Good cement will generally 
show, tested neat, 300 pounds, in one day, 600 pounds in 7 days, 
and 700 to 800 pounds in 28 days; and with three parts standard 
sand at least 200 pounds in 7 days and 300 pounds in 28 days. 
Compression tests, by pressing cubes of cement or concrete in mas¬ 
sive crushing machines, are also made in well-equipped labora¬ 
tories, but are not generally necessary to determine acceptance or 
rejection, as it is well known that good Portland cement will gen¬ 
erally show a resistance to compression about ten times greater 
than its tensile strength. 

A few words, in closing, on the rational use of cement. Pure 
or neat cement is almost never used, and to give useful results 
admixture with sand and gravel or broken stone is necessary. 
Sand alone is a very poor material to mix with cement. With three 
parts sand a strength of perhaps 200 pounds may be expected, while 
with three parts good gravel, ranging from coarse pebbles down to 
sand, the strength will often reach 600 pounds. Materials should be 
so chosen that the voids will be filled as completely as possible, 
to yield a mass, of greatest possible density. Ordinarily, concrete 
is made of one part cement, two to three parts sand, and four to 
six parts coarse gravel or broken stone. The amount of water 
used should be such as to give a soft, plastic mixture, which will 
quake when rammed, like a jelly. Mixtures made too dry will 
always be soft, earthy, and rotten, and no subsequent wetting of 
the concrete will materially help matters. This fault is often seen 
in hollow concrete building blocks. To give good results these 
must be made as wet as possible, up to the point at which the 
mixture begins to stick to the plates or to sag out of shape on re¬ 
moving from the molds. 

Thorough mixing is essential, to develop the full strength of con¬ 
crete. This is difficult to accomplish by hand labor and almost 
certain to be slighted, except when under the eye of the foreman. 
There are many excellent concrete mixers on the market, which 
save greatly in labor and give strengths practically equal to those 
which can be obtained on a small scale in the laboratory. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


47 


It should always be kept in mind that cement hardens by com¬ 
bining with water and crystallizing. As soon as the work dries 
out, therefore, the hardening ceases. Concrete must be kept moist 
until thoroughly hardened. Too rapid drying out of the surface is 
also the most frequent cause of shrinkage cracks. 

The question of the use of concrete for street and road pave¬ 
ments has been widely discussed, and there are already many ex¬ 
amples of successful concrete pavements in various parts of the 
country. This subject was fully discussed in papers read before 
the Association of Cement Manufacturers at Philadelphia two 
years ago by Mr. H. L. Weber, Chief Engineer of Et. Wayne Trac¬ 
tion Company, Et. Wayne, Ind., and Mr. Walter Hassam, Manager 
Hassam Paving Company, Worcester, Mass. Bulletin No. 14, pub¬ 
lished by the Association, containing these papers and discussion, 
is now out of print, but it is hoped that a new edition will soon be 
published. The Association’s Committee on “New Uses” lately 
offered prizes for best papers on concrete roadways, through the 
agency and by the help of the Good Roads Magazine, and the 
two papers selected for prizes will soon be published in that Jour¬ 
nal. The May number of the Concrete Review, published by the 
Association of Cement Manufacturers, which has been delayed in 
publication, will be chiefly devoted to concrete roadways. 

The sum of all the evidence on this' question seems to be that 
concrete pavements, if properly made and of suitable material, are 
low in cost and of excellent wearing qualities. There is in cement 
a quality of toughness and resistance to wear which is superior to 
stone or brick. This is shown in the great superiority of cement 
sidewalks over flagstone, in point of durability. I have seen cement 
patches on flagstone walks, around which the stone has worn away 
to the depth of an inch, while the trowel marks on the cement sur¬ 
face are still visible. A well-laid macadam road is fairly durable. 
Does it not stand to reason that if the broken stone and sand or 
gravel, of which the surface is composed, were held together by a 
small amount of cement, the life of the road would be greatly in¬ 
creased? Here, however, comes the question of the wearing quality 
of the broken stone itself. Limestone is soon ground up under 
heavy traffic, and blows away in dust. To show resistance to wear 
equal to that of the cement binding material, the aggregate should 
be a hard, tough substance, such as quartz gravel or crushed trap 
rock. Where such materials are to be had at reasonable cost, there 
is no doubt that cement pavements can be laid, at a cost of 75 
cents to $1 per square yard, which will last longer and require less 
repairs than paving brick or stone. If Portland cement can play 
an important part in the development of good roads in our country, 
'it will certainly be a ground for pride on the part of all those who 
are connected with its manufacture. 


48 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


The reading of this paper was followed by considerable discus^ 
sion. 

Mr. Samuel Hill: I would ask Mr. Powers if he knows any place 
where pavement of that character is to be seen. 

Mr. Powers : The Speedway on Long Island. 

Mr. Lancaster: This was made of concrete reinforced. I think the 
construction of that road was entirely for automobile purposes, and 
not with the idea that it would be used for any other kind of traffic. 
For that purpose it is doubtless well suited, but for general traffic I, 
personally, do not believe it would wear well. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: So far as this concrete Speedway on Long 
Island is concerned, it was definitely stated that it was not expected it 
would withstand the impact of horses’ feet, but was to give the partic¬ 
ular surface which would hold the automobile. The road is exception¬ 
ally well suited for a speedway for automobiles, but I would not 
expect it to stand the impact of the horses’ feet. There are a few 
streets in Chicago of granitoid pavement which are said to wear well. 
I have been unfortunate not to have seen a good section. Possibly 
there is some one present who has. 

Mr. Fowler: You all seem to be opposed to a concrete pavement, 
and in the absence of defenders I want to say, in connection with a 
road built about twelve years ago, that the Knoxville Bridge road¬ 
way, 40 feet in width, was finished with a cement wearing surface and 
lasted very well indeed for city traffic of all kinds, and it was only a 
year or so ago that it was necessary to let a contract for resurfacing, 
so I know of a third of a mile of concrete pavement which has stood 
very well for about twelve years. 

Mr. Eldredge: In Washington we have a pavement about a mile in 
length, which was built of concrete. The pavement was built about 
three years ago, I believe, and I saw it very recently, and it does not 
show up very well. The particular trouble seems to be with the ex¬ 
pansion joints. Wherever they were placed the pavement has gone to 
pieces, and there are places where there are holes in the pavement as 
wide as two or three feet at the expansion joints. That is an exceed¬ 
ingly heavy traffic road, possibly a thousand wagons every day, the 
heaviest in the District of Columbia, and for that reason the War De¬ 
partment hoped to build a successful road that would stand, but so 
far it has not proved entirely satisfactory. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


49 


Mr. Samuel Hill: I have a piece in mind, the only piece I have 
found in this country of that character, and I have found it very 
unsatisfactory. The wear at the different sides of that street is not 
uniform. 

Mr. Morrison: There is mention made in the paper of the Has- 
sam pavement. If I understand it, there have been several experi¬ 
ments made in this city by the Hassam people, and perhaps it 
would be well for Mr. Thomson to give us an account of this. 

Mr. Thomson: We have two or three experimental sections of 
the Hassam pavement in the city. Probably there is 1,200 feet 
constructed in the residential district. This has been in service about 
eighteen months, and only about two wagons pass daily over the 
pavement, and it is in perfect condition, and at this rate of travel I 
think will last a lifetime. On Westlake avenue there is about 100 feet 
of Hassam pavement. Part is in excellent condition; but it has re¬ 
quired to have very considerable repair. It has been in about two years. 
As to the relative cost, there is very little difference between the cost 
of that and our asphalt pavement in the city; probably it is 80 
per cent, of the cost of asphalt. We are under this difficulty: That 
we have not any great supply of good stone for macadam of any 
kind close at hand, and the cost of delivery is a very considerable 
expense, and it is much more here than many other cities. We have 
to bring our stone from quite a distance. 

Mr. Lancaster: I would like to qualify what I said about not 
being favorable to concrete pavement, by saying that I do not be¬ 
lieve it can be economically repaired. I think that is one of the troubles 
Mr. Thomson has spoken of; that while it has been used quite exten¬ 
sively in some of the Eastern cities, the fact that these expansion 
joints cannot be repaired easily is against it. Another feature is 
that, in driving horses over it, it is absolutely unyielding, and is in¬ 
jurious to a horse. There is no yielding of any kind whatever, and 
it is rather hard on the horses that are driven over it. This Blome 
pavement is a new one, and is being used to some extent in the 
vicinity of Chicago, and I understand some of it is being put in in 
Walla Walla, in this state. 

Mr. Powers: With a view to getting some form of concrete 
pavement, some manufacturers offered prizes for the best paper on 
that form of roadway, and they asked us to publish the papers. 


50 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


The Tong Island Parkway is one of the most noted of these roads, 
and that I understand has been averagely successful. Understand, 

I am not defending the concrete more than any other; but I have 
understoqd that it has been successful from the automobilist s 
standpoint. I have not been able to get the road builder s opinion 
of it. Mr. Ross, the city engineer of Worcester, Mass., has, I under¬ 
stand built a road of concrete and found it serviceable, and he did 
tell me personally he was quite well pleased with it so far. 

Mr. Samuel Hill: What Mr. Powers says is true with regard to 
the Long Island pavement. Mr. Lancaster and I had the pleasure 
of seeing it with Mr. Vanderbilt, who built it, and we drove over 
it in an automobile. It is not suited for use on public highways. 

Mr. Fuller: I wrote to the city engineers of a number of the 
New England states, and received replies from them to the effect 
that the Hassam pavement was being laid to rather a great extent, 
that it was satisfactory as far as they had been able to tell within 
their experience of two or three years, that it was easily repaired, 
and the general impression I got was that the Hassam pavement 
was going to be laid to a much greater extent than it had been. I 
have been unable to learn anything definite as to what has been 
done during the last two years. If there is any one here that can 
enlighten us, I would be pleased. 

Mr. Samuel Hill: We will call on Mr. Thomson. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: I do not think there has been any advance 
or improvement in the production of Hassam pavement. The owner 
of the patents himself does not claim any great advance has been 
made. He claimed he was experimenting with a new type of 
binder, which, instead of being rigid, as Portland cement, and 
destroyed whenever broken, was slightly plastic and would rebound 
under traffic, and he hoped soon to bring that type of pavement 
under notice. I have seen no notice of it. Perhaps he has intro¬ 
duced it somewhere, I do not know. 

Mr. Landes: I am disappointed in what has been said in regard 
to the Hassam pavement, for I am interested in local conditions, 
and have been interested in the experiments of the Hassam pave¬ 
ment here, and I think Mr. Thomson will bear me out in saying that 
the man who undertook to lay the Hassam pavement here was not 
practical in his doing, and undertook to lay it on ground where the 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


51 


asphalt would not lie on account of being soft, and he did not have 
the right tools, and was obliged to use the wrong rollers, etc., and 
could not mix it as it should be. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: From my observation, the difficulty with the 
Hassam pavement on Westlake Avenue, does not result from the 
causes mentioned by Prof. Landes, but results principally from the 
inferior quality of the stone used. The stone, upon examination, has 
been found to be very much softer than the mortar in which it is em¬ 
bedded and very soluble. In addition to that, the stone is very unequal 
in its texture. As a result, when any one of these stones is crushed 
from any reason, there has been left a small hole in the pavement, and 
the impact of the horses’ feet passing over in a short time produces a 
pocket of considerable size. The inferiority of the stone has unques¬ 
tionably had more to do with the failure of this pavement than any 
other cause, so far as I am able to determine, and for that reason we 
cannot regard the results obtained by the experiment on Westlake Ave¬ 
nue as being fair to the Hassam people. My objections to concrete 
pavements in general are these: First, such pavement is very hard on 
horses, because of its unyielding surface. Second, where the stone and 
the mortar are of equal hardness, they wear very smooth and afford 
but moderate foothold. Third, when any crack or crevice is made by 
any means whatever, it affords an initial point for ravelling and pocket- 
ing. Fourth, it is very difficult to patch these pocketed places so as to 
obtain a uniform bond arid maintain a uniform surface. 

Mr. Samuel Hill announced that there would be a most interest¬ 
ing session on Tuesday, and the further proceedings were ad¬ 
journed until the following day at 9 :30 a. m. 

M.R.B.—5 


52 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


TUESDAY, July 6th, at 9:30 a.m. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF STONE SUITED FOR USE AS 
MACADAM OR FOR PAVING BLOCKS. 

The first paper read at the morning session was by Professor 
Henry Landes, of the University of Washington, on the above sub- 
ject, and was as follows: 

Paper by Prop. Henry Landes. 

In the making of the best roads of a permanent character, a large 
number of factors must enter. Such roads are the results of many 
years of experience, and necessarily involve engineering skill of a 
high order. Without enumerating all of the elements of success, 
it is safe to say that our best roads can be had only by the fulfill¬ 
ment of at least these requirements: 

1. Selection of a proper gradient. 

2. Good drainage of the roadbeds. 

3. Use of first-class stone in construction. 

4. Highest engineering skill at every stage. 

5. Continued maintenance and persistent care. 

Of the above essentials my topic has to deal only with the stone 
which may be used, and in the selection of such material, suitable 
for macadam or paving, the chief considerations are these: 

1. The quality of the rock, or its inherent ability to withstand 
every test which any kind of traffic upon the road might demand. 

2. The accessibility of the stone, which determines the cost at 
which it may be delivered to the points where needed. 

3. Demands of the particular road, taking into account such 
things as the nature of the traffic and the characteristics of the 
climate. 

The principal qualities desired in stone may be summarized as 
follows: 

1. Hardness, or the resistance offered to any abrading action. 
This quality is determined largely by the hardness of the individual 
minerals composing the stone. 

2. Toughness, or the coherency among the individual particles 
of the stone, which holds the mass together, when struck by a 
hammer, a hoof, or a wheel. 

3. Cementing power, or the natural binding qualities possessed 
by the crushed rock, whereby it holds together firmly when moisten¬ 
ed and rolled. This quality is particularly desired in stone for mac¬ 
adam purposes, although it is helpful in paving blocks as well. It 
is probable that in the future the relative value of this quality will 
decline with the increasing use of cementing substances of an arti¬ 
ficial character. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


53 


In determining the presence or absence of the above qualities in 
a stone, the following three classes of tests may be employed: 

1. Practical use of the stone in a road for a term of years. Since 
the best tests are always made in the laboratory of experience, 
long-continued successful use of a stone affords the only test which 
may be regarded as final. The older a community may be, the more 
this test may be relied upon; but manifestly the practical use of 
the stone cannot be utilized in the building of roads in a state as 
young as Washington. 

2. Observations on the stone at its natural outcrops, with regard 
to its resistance to weathering and erosion, behavior under frost 
action, binding qualities of the resultant subsoil, etc. This test is 
one very commonly depended upon, and when applied with intelli¬ 
gence will yield valuable results. 

. 3- Laboratory tests and experiments, approaching actual condi¬ 
tions as far as possible. The difficulties here are those attendant 
upon such vast differences in the scale of operations, and upon the 
impossibility of attaining in the laboratory conditions similar to 
those of a highway. The results of these tests can only be regarded 
as approximate, and never as wholly conclusive. 

In all tests or observations made upon a stone to determine its 
qualities necessary for road purposes the following analysis seems 
desirable: 

1. The minerals present; kinds and relative amounts of each, 
with such physical characteristics as hardness, cleavage, and specific 
gravity. When one considers that a rock is but an aggregate of 
minerals, it becomes evident that the character of the rock is de¬ 
termined by its mineral ingredients. 

2. Chemical nature of the rock, particularly in regard to solubil¬ 
ity. Solubility is at once both an advantage and a disadvantage. 
A moderate degree of solubility, when precipitation of the soluble 
portion takes place within the crushed rock, yields marked binding 
qualities. A high degree of solubility speedily weakens the stone 
and renders it unfit for road use. 

3. Coherency of the rock. In igneous rocks the coherency de¬ 
pends upon the extent of interlocking of the crystals, while in 
sedimentary rocks it depends upon the degree of cementation of 
the grains. The coherency of a stone gives rise to the quality 
known as toughness, which is a necessary attribute of any stone 
designed for highway purposes. 

4. Porosity; a characteristic due to pores among the original 
water-worn fragments of a sedimentary rock, or to steam holes in 
an igneous rock, caused by an original overplus of water. In gen¬ 
eral, as the degree of porosity of a stone increases, its value for 
road purposes decreases, because of a decline in its specific gravity, 
a lowering of its crushing strength, and a greater liability to the 
disruption of the road by frost action. 

. 5. Texture, or the size of grain which composes the rock. As the 
size of grain increases, especially when the stone is made up of min¬ 
erals widely different in their coefficients of expansion, the stone 
is more readily disrupted through expansion and contraction. This 


54 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


would happen particularly in a region where rapid changes of 
temperature were common. 

6. Fracture, or the appearance of a broken surface of the stone. 
Of the several fractures the conchoidal, which characterizes basalt, 
is the one most helpful in increasing the binding qualities of crushed 
rock. In paving blocks, the cubical fracture is the one yielding most 
economy in the preparation of the stone. 

7. Joints, or the natural breaks possessed by the stone. They are 
generally in excess at the surface, and decrease with depth. . When 
they occur with proper frequency, they are helpful in lowering the 
cost of quarrying the stone for crushing, but if too frequent may be 
detrimental, when the stone is desired for paving blocks. 

In applying the principles above set forth, and in searching for 
“the everlasting better,” we might say, in conclusion, that the 
ideal stone as road metal should possess these characteristics: 

A mineral composition insuring sufficient hardness for complete 
resistance to any reasonable load; a chemical composition affording 
soluble ingredients only to assist cementation; a coherency giving 
the stone such a degree of toughness that only enough breakage 
will occur to give the road a maximum smoothness; a porosity of 
the least degree; a texture such that the grains or crystals will be 
of microscopic dimensions; a fracture yielding conchoidal surfaces 
and sharp edges; and no more jointing than that necessary to en¬ 
able quarry operations to be conducted at the least expense. 

It may be said that no stone possessing all these qualities can 
ever be found. While this statement may be true, it does not re¬ 
lease us from the obligation to select that stone which holds these 
virtues in the largest degree. If I may speak of the state of Wash¬ 
ington, I will say that we have stone which we believe will fulfill 
the most rigorous requirements as road metal, and it is our ambi¬ 
tion at some succeeding Congress to show such results in the way 
of macadam roads that you will assure us that by our good works 
we shall be known. 


DISCUSSION. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: I would like to ask Professor Landes if he 
has found any sandstone which he believes fulfills the requirements 
for macadam or paving blocks which is in reach of Seattle. 

Professor Landes: I would like to say that, as far as paving 
block is concerned, Mr. Thomson is my master in that respect. I 
yield to him. As far as macadam is concerned, the only thing in 
the nature of a sandstone that seems desirable to use is one that 
is technically not a sandstone, but has passed to the succeeding 
stage, and is therefore much harder and more durable than a sand¬ 
stone. We have found rock of this character that will be service¬ 
able. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


55 


Mr. Thomson: I will say we do not claim to have mastered the 
sandstone paving block yet. We use the best we can get, but when 
we can get a better the city will welcome it. 

Mr. Samuel Hill: We believe we have found a Superior sandstone 
in the state of Washington, an analysis of which is being made by Pro¬ 
fessor Landes. The stone has a crushing strength almost equal and 
identical with Quincy granite, being 21,000 pounds per cubic inch. It 
is about 96 plus pure silica. 

Mr. Samuel Hill: I now have great pleasure in presenting to you 
Mr. Campbell, whose reputation is known to you all. We are very for¬ 
tunate in having him with us to-day. I have tried to get him before, 
and I now have the greatest pleasure in introducing Mr. A. W. Camp¬ 
bell, of the province of Ontario and city of Toronto. 

Mr. A. W. Campbell was down on the programme to give a paper 
on “Successful Macadam Roadways with Clay and Stone Binder,” 
but instead gave a most valuable and interesting extemporaneous 
address on the system of road building in the province of Ontario. 
Mr. Hill, however, secured a copy of Mr. Campbell’s paper, which will 
be incorporated in this report. 

Mr. Campbell, who was received with cheers, said: 

I consider myself very fortunate to have been selected as one to 
represent the Dominion of Canada and province of Ontario at this 
Congress of Road Builders, and I am delighted to be here with you 
to-day. It is not the first time I have had the privilege of attending 
such a conference and of having heard valuable papers read, which 
have been of great benefit to me in my work. 

The subject assigned to me is one of a somewhat technical char¬ 
acter, but along the line of the paper just read. It does seem as if 
the experience of the American continent, extending over the last 
few years, has reduced the question of stone roads to almost a 
science, which is understood now by most engineers, and there are 
very few points upon which we differ. To prepare the material and 
to lay it in a practical way are questions which we have to consider 
in connection with the varying conditions of climate, of soil, etc., 
and very often, while we have an ideal stone found within a state, 
we find it is more economical to use less valuable material, because 
of its being more accessible. However, I think that as a general thing 
engineers are reaching the conclusion that the principles of stone 
road making or how stone roads should be made to withstand the 
climate on this continent are to be yet established. How to prepare 
the public mind for going into a scheme of financing the making of 
stone roads, or roads of better quality, seems to me to be the ques- 


56 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


tion of greatest importance, and one which I think must in the first 
place precede the actual specifications of how a road should be made. 

A few years ago, in the province of Ontario, the Government es¬ 
tablished a Bureau of Highways, in connection with the Department 
of Public Works, and it is the mission of that department to go 
about meeting with the rate payers in every town and village and 
township and municipality, for the purpose of discussing with them 
what system they should employ for the raising of the money and 
the performing of the work. In the province of Ontario, our munic¬ 
ipal government consists of township councils and county councils. 
Our province is divided into townships, consisting of about 10 miles 
square. These are grouped into counties, comprising from 6 to 12 
townships, and the county council is composed of representatives 
Irom the township councils. Up to a few years ago, the roads in each 
township were under the jurisdiction of the township council, and 
they had charge of these roads. The roads were made and main¬ 
tained by what we call a labor tax, or statutory labor tax—so many 
days of labor taxed against the holding according to the assessed 
value of each. These men were supposed to turn out and perform 
such work as they were directed to perform by the overseers or 
pathmasters or road commissioners. In the early days, when labor 
was plentiful and money was scarce, the farmers had days instead 
of dollars, and this tax was imposed and worked pretty successfully. 
The people united themselves in large gangs, and were usually di¬ 
rected by the most capable of their number. This seemed to be 
sufficient to clear the road allowances of timber, and take out the 
stumps, and strengthen the weak spots, and all that sort of thing; 
but we have passed that stage now, and have come to the stage 
when some better class of work is necessary. We must look after 
the hardening of the surface of these roads, and must gather this 
labor together and direct it in the selection of the material, in the 
assembling of the material, in the crushing of the material, and in 
preparing it and applying it to the road; and we then find that that 
labor tax is incompetent, incapable, and practically useless, so far 
as the balance of the work on our roads is concerned, and conse¬ 
quently it is necessary to create throughout our province an agita¬ 
tion showing the people where their labor was being pretty largely 
wasted; for all that it was possible for them to do was to fill in the 
ruts and depressions in the earth roads, and the repair was of very 
little substantial value, having to be repeated each year, and con¬ 
sequently they were making very little progress, notwithstanding 
the fact that a great deal of labor was being expended on the work. 
Councils in addition had gone on to raise by direct tax a certain 
amount of money to be united with this labor, and that in some way 
was scattered. 

We found, and the people found, after the agitation was put prop¬ 
erly on foot, and statistics made and prepared, that we were spend¬ 
ing 1,100,000 days of statute labor, and in addition the people were 
taxing themselves a million of money, and in no instance could we 
find a solitary road, which we would consider a first-class road, was 
being built. Our people could not in, this way equip themselves by 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


57 


any possible means with the necessary implements and machinery 
that is so essential to the building of a proper macadam road or the 
building of a. substantial street. They went on doing work without 
the necessary tools, and consequently we find this labor and money 
represented a very, very large outlay in that province, and the agita¬ 
tion was in favor of commuting the statute labor and substituting 
a money tax, whereby the whole expenditure which was being made 
could be consolidated and concentrated upon some fixed plan, lead¬ 
ing towards the construction of at least a certain mileage of road 
each year. When the people realized their expenditure meant so 
much, and that this capitalized would secure for them such a large 
amount of money to be laid out in substantial work, with roads built 
on scientific principles, when they realized what a first-class maca¬ 
dam road was, and what it cost, and that it could be made by them¬ 
selves with the exercise of a little prudence and judgment, and the 
use of material that was easily available, they began to think there 
was no use in continuing that system of patching and repair; that 
the time had arrived when they should lay down some definite plan, 
under the direction of some experienced and competent overseer; 
that they should equip themselves with the necessary implements 
in each township and locality; that they should concentrate their 
expenditure, and commence at certain points on leading roads first; 
that they should follow this, making the most of their expenditure 
each year in building, if only a few miles, and extending that year 
by year. The result was that applications were made to the Gov¬ 
ernment, to the Department of Roads, for the construction of 
sample pieces, in some cases a mile and in others half a mile, and as 
a general thing the money was subscribed by the people of the 
locality, assisted by grant of the municipal council, for the purpose 
of breaking down the prejudice that existed among the people 
against road construction. They seemed to fear the estimates that 
had been made to them that macadam roads would cost $3,000 or 
$4 000 a mile and in figuring this on a basis of the road mileage of 
each township, 100 to 150 miles, it seemed to frighten them. That 
to a township seemed to be too large an expenditure. 

After the agitation had gone so far as to convince the people that 
the movement for better roads, for good roads, did not mean the 
bonding of the province for the purpose of raising a large sum of 
money, but that it did mean the directing of the public mind to¬ 
wards a more careful study of road making, how roads should be 
made, and what implements should be used in their construction, 
what materials, and how the materials should be prepared, and how 
applied what a road would actually cost, how the money could 
be raised, and all this sort of thing, the people began to look upon 
the question of road making as being the most important public 
work with which they had to deal. They took a pride in each local¬ 
ity in the first half mile constructed, and were anxious for the next 
year to increase it to a mile, and after that first mile was built, and 
they saw some of the advantages of it, it was an easy matter to lay 
down a plan for the extension of this, until the attention of the Gov¬ 
ernment was attracted to the interest which the people generally 


58 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


were taking, and they were prompted to encourage them by saying 
that, wherever the county council, an aggregation of the township 
council, would lay down a plan for macadamizing the leading roads 
in that county, the Government would contribute one-third of the 
cost of construction. This offer of contributing one-third of the 
cost seemed to have stimulated the interest which the people were 
taking in the matter, and there was a desire to get the. Government 
grant. This was never made for the purpose of trying to pay a 
debt which the people could not pay themselves, but for the pur¬ 
pose of stimulating that interest which had been raised by en¬ 
couraging the people and leading them to believe that the Govern¬ 
ment was anxious to stand at least a third of the cost if they them¬ 
selves would put up the two-thirds. That applied to leading roads. 
The county councils started in. Meetings were held in township 
halls and schoolhouses throughout the country to explain to the rate 
payers how the work could be carried out, what the work would 
cost, what the intention of the county council was, how they were 
going to raise the two-thirds, and how the people would benefit. 
Different schemes were devised for raising their two-thirds of the 
money; for the Government said: ‘'You can do as you see fit as to 
that; bond the county if you will. We give you permission by this 
special act to raise up to 2 per cent, of the assessed value of the coun¬ 
ty for the purpose of meeting your two-thirds of the cost, and as 
the work progresses we will pay the one-third of the expenditure. 
The work must be done, however, according to the plans and spe¬ 
cifications laid down by the Department of Public Works.” 

Five years have passed along, and county after county has fallen 
into line. It was surprising how difficult it was to break down that 
prejudice the people seemed to have against the Government inter¬ 
fering in any way in this connection, as to the county councils tak¬ 
ing over any of these roads, as to there being any interference with 
the local management and control of the highways, and it looked 
as if they considered that there was something behind all this that 
was going to deceive them, and that they were going to have taken 
away from them the privilege of working out their tax. They re¬ 
quired a little coaxing to get them to abandon this system. It came 
to this that it was looked upon as being an honor of the very high¬ 
est order to be selected as pathmaster, or (: road commissioner, or 
road overseer. It looked to be as if the honor were of the more im¬ 
portance, for the reason that the man had the say as to what his 
neighbors should do in working on the road. In many cases the 
people became sufficiently interested in the work of improving the 
road that they united for the purpose of making a piece of road. 
They adopted the latest particulars of road construction, and 
worked enthusiastically and well, and it seemed to be their ambition 
to keep up that section in the best possible condition. But this was 
only 3.bout 10 per cent, of the communities in each township that 
cared to do it. The other 90 per cent, seemed to be indifferent. 
They looked upon the working out of the task as being a sort of 
national holiday, in which they could discharge their obligation 
without doing any particular work, and it seemed to be the height 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


50 


of impertinence for the Government to interfere with the existing 
state of things. 

I have frequently gone into meetings in townships and rural dis¬ 
tricts, where it was almost impossible to get a chairman to act, 
where some one would say: “You must be pretty brave to venture 
into a place of this description, and it will be a mighty fortunate 
thing if you are not thrown out of the window before the meeting 
is over.” This prejudice has been broken down. We found that 
one of the greatest benefits to result from the agitation for good 
roads was the starting an agitation for the betterment of the high¬ 
ways, and then go out and educate the people along the simple lines 
of road construction. It is surprising what ignorance prevails in 
the rural communities as to the real principles of road making, and 
it is also surprising what carelessness exists among them as to how 
the work should be done. Indifference seems to be responsible for 
it. Some farmers are studying in the most scientific way how best 
to till the soil, to drain their land, to select with the greatest care 
their seeds. They have the greatest desire to have good barns and 
homes and buildings. Their ambition seems all to be along those 
particular lines; but they never thought it was worth their while, 
or was any of their business, to study closely and scientifically the 
matter of road construction. They understand the principles of 
drainage in connection with road making; but they look upon road 
building as being a matter that belongs to the township councils, 
or to the President of the country, or to the King and Queen. It 
is the King’s Highway with us, and consequently it is somebody 
else’s business, and not the property of the general rate payer, and 
he does not consider there is any obligation imposed on him to go 
out and organize for the purpose of improving the road in front of 
his own land, which he has by his own individual effort so splendid¬ 
ly improved. We have been trying to educate the people along 
these lines. It appears as if the first thing that is necessary .to be 
done, before trying to educate the people in the principles of road 
making, is to unteach them some of the things which have been 
taught them as to how roads should not be made. It appears as 
if they do the very things they should not do, and it looks as if they 
consider the question of road making as a problem that is under¬ 
stood by engineers, and as soon as an engineer attempts to suggest 
to them how the work should be done they persistently refuse to 
accept the proper methods, and will go and spend time and money 
in doing the opposite. 

The people will frequently say to me: “Well, tell us what are 
the principles of road making.” And I say: “The principles of 
road making are simpler than what you think.” So far as I am 
personally concerned, after an experience of fifteen years, devoting 
my time exclusively to the building of streets and roads, I have 
reached the conclusion that road making, or the principles of road 
making, are three in number, and three only, and that these prin¬ 
ciples are as simple as A, B, and C. The first is drainage, the 
second is drainage, and the third is DRAINAGE. (Applause.) 
DRAIN and FOUNDATION. Unless a foundation is thoroughly 


60 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


drained, it is as useless and fatal for you to attempt to make a 
good road on that foundation as to put up this building on a weak 
foundation. The foundation is practically the substance of the 
road. It is the clay, the sand, the natural soil, that carries the load; 
and it is that natural soil that must be treated, and if that founda¬ 
tion is not thoroughly drained, then it matters not whether you put 
gravel, or broken stone, or vitrified brick, or asphalt. That road 
will be defective. The frost acts on the moisture in the foundation, 
and raises it, and if it is a macadam surface the course is raised 
up, and when the frost goes out the bottom is honeycombed, the 
course raised up is raised up on an unstable foundation, and the 
road cracks and splits, and the destruction of that road is com¬ 
menced. The foundation must be thoroughly drained, and that is 
necessary, whether it is to be a macadam, or a vitrified brick, or an 
asphalt pavement. That drainage is absolutely necessary for the 
betterment of all earth roads, and with us, while we are making con¬ 
siderable progress along those lines, it will be many, many years 
before all the roads in our province, or in any of your states, will 
be macadamized or covered with stone. The earth road, for ordi¬ 
nary purposes, will be the public highway, generally speaking, for 
a great many years to come, and it is surprising what an improve¬ 
ment we can make upon ordinary clay or earth roads, if care, cau¬ 
tion, and proper principles are applied to the shaping of the road, 
the draining of, the road, and to keeping the road from year to year 
after the spring season has passed. 

We started in to show how earth roads should be made. We 
started to show what these principles were and, as I said, the first 
principle of drainage is to drain the foundation, to make it hard 
and unyielding, to shape the road so as to shed the water out from 
the center to the ditches, to make the ditches along the side, or the 
gutters with a uniform slope leading to some outlet and to make 
the outlets through the adjacent property as near as possible. Cov¬ 
er the surface of the road with some hard material that prevents 
the earth rutting, that will withstand the traffic and prevent the 
wear. 

We classify our roads into three classes: (1) Leading roads, 
carrying from county to county to a central point, which are sub¬ 
jected to heavy traffic, and which are made more expensively than 
other roads. (2) Those roads used only by a community, leading 
onto the leading roads. This class of roads does not require to be 
treated in such an expensive way as the roads with heavier traffic. 
(3) One-third of the roads are back roads, that lead into little set¬ 
tlements, used in many instances only by one or two farmers to 
reach other roads. 

We adopted the plan of encouraging county councils comprising 
the larger area to lay down these roads passing through the dif¬ 
ferent townships, making as far as possible a connecting system of 
leading roads in that county, and in approving the plans we com¬ 
pared the plan favored by the adjoining county with the plan of 
the county that had been adopted, so as to see that the plans would 
make a connecting system between the counties, and the leading 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


61 


roads are the roads we attempted to aid in construction. Now fif¬ 
teen counties, about one-third of the organized part of the province 
of Ontario, have already in hand the operation of that connecting 
system, and nearly three thousand miles of first-class macadam 
roads have been constructed. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: What is the soil? 

I may say about half of these counties are a flat clay soil. Stone, 
limestone, granite, and trap are to be found in about half of the prov¬ 
ince ; some sandstone and drift boulder are to be found in other parts. 
We have adopted the plan, however, of using the stone that is most 
convenient within a reasonable cost. In most instances we are not 
using the stone of the very highest quality, but in that case we under¬ 
stand that the cost of repair will be considerably more than if we used 
the better quality stone; but, if we have the freight to add on the long 
distance it has to be hauled, the cost becomes so great as to make 
it almost prohibitive, but we believe, using the cheaper class of 
stone, we will soon convince the people of the wisdom and im¬ 
portance of improved roads, and later on it will be less difficult to 
have these resurfaced with a better class of material. However, 
there is no doubt, from a careful study of the problem, that it will 
be money well spent to use the ideal road material in the first in¬ 
stance, when you consider the question of cost; but, as I say, you 
cannot bring about this by any revolutionary measure, but rather 
by a voluntary measure. We must establish object lessons, and 
gradually improve our plans and guide our people into the adoption 
of the better class of work, until we have reached the ideal. But 
progress will be slow along this line, and it will be some time be¬ 
fore we can convince them of the economic value of using the most 
expensive material in the first instance. We are striving, however, 
to that end, and, in connection with the School of Practical Science 
of the Province of Ontario, samples from every municipality are 
sent in and tested free of cost, and returned to the engineers or road 
commissioners of municipal council. That department of the Un¬ 
iversity is devoting a great deal of attention to this matter, more 
particularly in the towns and cities, where the millions and millions 
of money raised from the people by the cold machinery of taxation 
are simply spent, squandered, and buried in mud by the hand of 
igruorance and inexperience. As I have told the people, the time 
has arrived when they should look upon the question of street im¬ 
provement as one of the most important branches of the public 
works of cities and towns, and that care of the highest order should 
be employed, and all the agencies of the Universities should be 
brought into operation to save the people from that awful taxation 
through which they have been passing in connection with the pav¬ 
ing of the streets of their towns and cities. 

I often think that principles more reckless and more extravagant 
are practiced in connection with the streets of towns than with the 
roads in rural districts. The towns are the centers of that, and 
they should set the example. They should establish the object les¬ 
sons for the benefit of the people in the outside districts. 


G2 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


However, we are paying particular attention now to the improv¬ 
ing of the rural roads. We have 3,000 miles of these roads now con¬ 
necting, as a general thing, so as to form a line across the whole 
district of fifteen townships, which have been laid down, and this 
work has been completed, and these very councils which were the 
first to adopt the plan are now pressing the Government for an 
extension of their plans to permit them to lay down a greater road 
mileage. It is surprising how contagious it becomes when people 
get the disease of road improvement, when they see good roads 
made how remarkably easy it is for them to finance the problem, 
how zealous they then are to stretch out and extend that improve¬ 
ment. The counties that came in first, that have made the greatest 
expenditure, are now the counties that are pressing the Government 
the hardest to make that act more liberal, so as to permit them to 
bring in a greater mileage of road. It is a contagious disease, this 
matter of road making. It stretches out every day until it gets hold 
of people, and when it gets hold of them it is surprising how it 
clings to them. The farmer believes that the road in front of his 
place never could be macadamized. It is such a herculean task he 
could never think of bearing the cost of having it macadamized; 
but after it has been stoned, and he has paid his tax, he forgets 
all about the cost per mile, and he is living in luxury. He does not 
understand how it was brought about; but it was through some 
machinery of the Government, some plan of the Government that 
these leading roads should be improved, and that has led to the 
macadamizing of these particular roads. 

We do not go into expensive paving. We use the material that 
is most easily available. We use rock crushers for crushing the 
stone. We have regular outfits that belong to the county council, 
managed by the county road commissioner, and the provision is im¬ 
posed by the Government that, wherever a county plan is laid down 
by the county council, they must select a competent road commis¬ 
sioner to take charge of the work, and to see that the plans and 
specifications of the Government are carried out. One-third of the 
cost of that commissioner is paid by the Government, although he 
is a county commissioner; then he is approved by the Department 
of Public Works as being a person competent to carry out the plans 
and specifications of the Department. This was objected to in the 
first instance, until they saw that road making, the business of 
road making, takes years of training to prepare a man for the posi¬ 
tion, and that it was to their interest to have an expert, and one of 
the greatest benefits resulting from that is that the work of that ex¬ 
pert is studied by the people in that community, and everything 
he does is watched by the farmers, by the local road commissioners 
and councilors, and they see how he does the work, how he operates 
the machine, how he grades the roads and prepares it for the ma¬ 
terial, how he prepares the material, how he places it, how he rolls 
it, and how he finishes it, and that object lesson we consider one of 
the greatest benefits the people will receive in connection with 
state aidi 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


03 


Not more than 10 per cent, of the roads fall in the county scheme. 
The remaining 90 per cent, of the roads remain in the hands of the 
local councils, so that you can see that it is only a small percentage 
of the roads that the Government aids in the construction of. But 
these examples stand there to influence for good in the making of 
the 90 per cent, remaining, and we find that the benefits resulting 
in this way repay the province and make it one of the most profit¬ 
able outlets they can contemplate. Example is a wonderful thing. 
Now, in our timber districts, of course, we used to use timber for 
making the culverts and sluices and small bridges. Since the adop¬ 
tion of the Government measure, we have prepared plans and spec¬ 
ifications for the making of the sluices and culverts along the roads 
of cement concrete. Cement concrete is put along the small roads, 
cement concrete arches reinforced with steel being used in the 
larger .roads, and in everything done on these roads we insist that 
it must be done in the most substantial and finished way. Where 
these culverts and sluices are necessary for the drainage of the land, 
they will be required as long as the community exists and the roads 
are there, and consequently economy dictates they should be built 
in the most substantial and finished manner. 

A few years ago, people used to think that this class of construc¬ 
tion belonged to European countries, and ,that the work was under¬ 
taken either for embellishment or for certain purposes of defense, 
but that the cost was so great that it was impossible for them to 
undertake it. Now these commissioners on county roads where 
state aid has gone see how easy it is to make cement pipes. They 
take the materials and things with them, and select the material and 
manufacture the pipes on the ground, and lay them down, and the 
farmers will come out and sit on the bank of the ditch, the elder 
ones, and sit and marvel at the ease with which these pipes are con¬ 
structed. They see them laid in the trench and covered over, and 
the walls made to protect the pipes from the wash and other de¬ 
structive agencies. Then they go along and put up a cement con¬ 
crete arch, and tht commissioners will at some time during the con¬ 
struction of the arch come and watch the operation. Those who 
have to do with that work on the lateral roads in their own dis¬ 
trict will sit there by the hour, and the commissioner and all con¬ 
nected with the work have positive and definite instructions from 
our Department to see that every question asked is answered, and 
the greatest care is taken to show the people how the thing is done, 
and to give them the fullest information. These men watch, and go 
back into their own districts. They say, “That is easily done; I 
can build an arch,” and they go back, and where it is necessary they 
can get copies of the plans and specifications and go out there, and 
if it is necessary and convenient for that commissioner he may 
send one of his men to give some assistance and instruction and di¬ 
rection. These are only in the initiative; but, where a township 
is commencing for the first time to do work of that kind, we try 
to instruct them along that line. A local road commissioner, path- 
master, or local council will undertake work of that sort, and carry 
it out to a successful completion, and will boast of what they have 


64 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


accomplished, and will take the greatest pride in pointing to this 
work as being a fine piece of work done under their management. 

That sort of encouragement does more than anything else to 
stimulate the councilors to better work, and to show them that they 
should take greater interest in this municipal road work than they 
have done in the past. Encouragement is a wonderful thing. It is 
a stimulant, and that is what is required more than anything else, 
because the people of the community see that the common high¬ 
way is their property, and that they are the people who should look 
after it, and that they are the ones who must look for the improve¬ 
ment of the roads, if improvement is to be made in this country. 

The stone would be broken and screened into four different 
grades, from 2y 2 inches down. In early practice we used to figure 
on building about 12 inches, placing about 12 inches of stone on the 
roadway, varying from 8 feet in width to 16 or 18 feet, and as one 
approaches the towns the width and fill of stone depend upon the 
extent and nature of the traffic on that road. A road lying near a 
large corporation or center requires to be paved from ditch to ditch, 
or on a street from curb to curb; but as we get to only a single 
line of traffic 8 feet wide and 8 inches deep is sufficient. In early 
practice we followed the plan of laying 12 inches of stone; first 6 
inches of coarse stone broken to 2y 2 -inch mesh, and then about 3 
inches of the next grade, broken to about li/o-inch, and then about 
2 inches of stone broken to three-quarters, and then we placed on 
this about one inch of stone dust. This was a specification that 
was looked upon as being a very good one; but we have changed 
that somewhat, and our experience even now is causing us to change 
these specifications, and I do not know when the ideal specifica¬ 
tion will be reached. We think we have reached it; but experience 
suggests some little change from day to day, and we are continual¬ 
ly making little changes, and I think it is a good thing for us that 
we are students enough to make the changes that should be made, 
because I suppose that this science on the American continent is 
only in its infancy. We do not appear to be able to get much as¬ 
sistance from the older countries. In the early days there were 
some stupendous roads built. They were built in a very substan¬ 
tial manner. They were certainly built in an excellent manner; 
but in this country of such long distances it would be impossible for 
us to hope to follow their pattern, and we have to figure consider¬ 
ably for ourselves. 

I believe that it is good practice to work the heavier grade of 
crushed stone as nearly as possible to a wearing surface, and I think 
it is advisable to place the stone on in layers of not more than 6 
inches without rolling, and that the fine dust screens, instead of be¬ 
ing placed on top, should be dusted into it, to fill the voids through 
the whole construction of the work. It is impossible for us to get 
that perfect consolidation necessary by rolling entirely from the 
surface. It is difficult to make people believe that a road is heavy 
enough, if we do not give an impression that the road behind is 
as firm as solid rock. I believe in using a light roller, about 10 
tons in weight; but that should be used as often as possible during 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


65 


the whole construction of the road. Keep sprinkling the stone and 
rolling it in, mixing with an amount of fine sand. Do not dump it 
on the surface of the road, but take it out of the cart with a shovel 
and sprinkle it where necessary. It is slow work, but it is the only 
way to get the perfect instrument that is required. 

Care must be taken to see that the stone is of uniform size if you 
want the road to wear uniform, and, more important still, that the 
stone is of uniform character. Then see that every block is keyed 
in its place, and enough binding material to pack it, and see that 
every void is filled, and roll it until it is thoroughly packed and 
brought to an even surface. Never make the stone thicker in one 
place than another; never leave depressions to be filled with a 
greater thickness of stone; otherwise you will get an un-uniform 
surface. Bond the first course of macadam; bond every course, and 
roll every course until you have the stones set in place, and sprinkle 
with water, so that the bonding will be carried down; but do not 
sprinkle so much as to wet the earth underneath the roadway. 

Question: What would be the cost per mile? 

Mr. Campbell: It all depends upon the availability of the mate¬ 
rial. They cost us from $1,200 to $3,500. If you are building roads 
along this plan, then these implements are necessary, and it is nec¬ 
essary to have men who are capable of operating them. I have 
seen implements used on roads, where the people are simply sent 
out at so much a day to make the improvement. With implements 
so directed, sides cut off the roads, and stuff piled in that should 
never be put there, whether the roads were stone or gravel orig¬ 
inally, and the shoulders had risen so high as to prevent drainage, 
these were cut off, and stuff brought in and placed on the top of the 
old road. There is a lot of that weak material to be found on every 
road that should not be put in, but cut off and turned out. Many 
times you will find the operator of the machine who sees a road 
to be rounded to a certain course, and he simply carries out his 
instructions and becomes a part of the machine himself. The man 
should be a skilled workman, a mechanic that not only understands 
his machine, but the purpose for which the machine was designed, 
and he should use some skill and brains in the operating of it. 

The road grading machine is one of the most economical instru¬ 
ments ever invented for the purpose of bettering roads; but in some 
instances it would be better for a community if they had never 
seen a grading machine. Roads are injured rather than bettered; 
but that road machine has no brains, and knows no more about 
road making than I do. (Laughter.) It is used for a purpose, and 
unless operated by somebody who does understand road making, 
you had better be without the machine. 

I have brought the question of macadam roads down to this, 
and it is very little use for me to say anything about this, because 
the paper we have heard covers the ground completely. It deals 
with everything there is to be said about it, and consequently I 
hesitated to read my own paper, because it is repetition, and for 
that reason I started to do some talking, and forgot about the pa- 


G6 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


per. As I say, the whole subject is boiled down to the preparation 
of the foundation that must be made, and in some instances it is 
easily made, because the material is loose and easily drained. In 
other cases the material is wet, soft, and soggy, and that must be 
drained. In mountains and hilly districts, it is very difficult to 
provide these side water beds; but it is just as important in rocky, 
mountainous districts to provide for the carrying down of the wa¬ 
ter, because, if you do not provide for the carrying away of the 
water, it will wash away more or less each year, until the road is 
made rough and impassable. The foundation requires the first at¬ 
tention, and then prepare the stone. I have known roads where it 
has cost $5,000 to make the foundation for a mile. There are in¬ 
stances where roads must necessarily cost an enormous amount of 
money. These ‘&re the worst spots, and if you cannot touch the 
rest of the mileage, if it costs $10,000 for the one bad mile, spend 
the money on that one bad mile, and leave the balance of the road 
in general fairly good condition. 

We must choose or adapt ourselves to conditions as we find 
them, and the question of cost is something. A railroad company 
will go to build a railroad over a prairie district; but you cannot 
compare that with the cost of the system that has to be built 
through a mountainous district. They try to lay down a system 
that will serve the community and make the connections they wish 
to make, and then they go to build the road and try to find the nec¬ 
essary money for building it. That is about all that can be done 
in connection with roads. To estimate the cost per mile is mislead¬ 
ing, because in one township you may build for $1,000 a mile, and 
in an adjoining township it may cost you two or three times as 
much, and in another part of the county it may cost on some miles 
as much as $10,000. We cannot very well speak of cost per mile. 
If we simply say, “What is the cost per mile and where will we 
get the money?” we will never have macadam roads. 

We have sections to-day that have originally been covered with 
the heaviest class of timber, and when the early settlers came in, 
about one hundred years ago, they had some reason for asking, 
“What will it cost per mile?” They had no money but strong arms. 
They had the brain and determination, and these men went in, they 
cut down the trees, they grubbed out the stumps, they corduroyed 
the swamps, they bridged the streams with their own labor, with¬ 
out the assistance of one dollar from the municipal or government 
treasury. If these men had said, “What will it cost per mile?” 
“Where will we get the money?” this continent would still be a 
wilderness, we would have no roads. But they said and knew that 
roads are of the first importance in connection with settlement. 
They said: “It is no use asking what it will cost per mile, and 
where will we get the money. It is necessary we bind ourselves 
together in the possible bonds, and labor intelligently under the 
direction of our best and most brainy citizen.” They cut down 
trees and labored hard, with the result that we now have in nearly 
every state and province of this continent our road allowance 
cleared and graded to some extent. What remains is for us to com¬ 
mence and form roads, form the roadbed, and put on some material 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


67 


that would put them in a finished condition ; and it is useless to con¬ 
sider cost per mile, but it is necessary for us to commence on right 
principles, and work back, so that the labor and expenditure we are 
now making will produce a dollar’s worth of road for every dollar 
spent on it, a dollar and a half of road for every day of our labor 
that is spent upon it. It is time we wakened up and gave that sys¬ 
tem of labor and labor tax the credit to which it is entitled. It has 
performed its labors. It has done the services for which it was 
designed, not only for this continent, but every other continent, in 
the early days. But it has outworn its usefulness, and it is cruelty 
to ask it to perform the service of macadamizing and finishing the 
roads that it was never intended to perform. Give it credit for 
what it has. done, and let us pass on, and revise our methods, and 
adopt a policy that will benefit all of every state and province on 
the continent by the improvement of their roads. 

Who have fixed these roads and brought them to their present 
condition ? The. farmers of the states have built the rural roads, 
but the people in the towns and cities see what they are doing. 
Is it not a marvel to come into this state of Washington, and city 
of Seattle, and see these splendidly paved streets. It is a revelation 
to me,, after having- visited cities that have taken generations and 
centuries upon centuries to improve in this way, to come for the 
first time to the Pacific Coast, and find this young town with its 
magnificent buildings and its road making in keeping with all. It 
is a pleasure and delight, and I have no doubt every person in this 
state takes a great delight in coming here and seeing how this has 
been brought about. 

How about the roads in this city? Let this be typical of every 
state of the Union. As a general thing, we find, while cities and 
towns have made wonderful strides in this connection, the people 
in the rural districts have not. I have wondered, in thinking this 
thing over seriously, how it comes that this tax or obligation of 
the making of roads in the rural districts should have been imposed 
on the farmer, and the farmer alone. Why is it that the people of 
the country should build the roads to bring the produce of the farm¬ 
er, of the mine and factory, into the city and market, and to bring 
the goods of the merchant and manufacturer back into the country, 
any more than the people of the cities and towns should have been 
obliged to build roads into the district to scatter their goods and 
wares and bring the product of the farm back into the town. 

Gentlemen, it is too much to expect that the farmers are going 
to keep up all these roads and make them or bring them to that con¬ 
dition which the commercial requirements of the country demand 
they should be brought within. The assistance and co-operation 
of the people of the towns and cities is the only one fair way of 
bringing this about, and that is to have the tax imposed in such 
a way that every member of the community will contribute to¬ 
ward the building at least of the main roads leading out through 
the country. Every merchant in every center will benefit as much 
as the farmer that is served. There must be some co-operation; 
otherwise it will be impossible to get these roads brought to this 
M.R.B.—6 


68 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


condition. There must be a state tax, in my opinion. We found 
that the people of the towns and cities were willing to help the 
farmers, and were willing to be taxed with the people of the town¬ 
ships and rural districts to bring about these better roads. The 
question has always been looked upon as being too commonplace, 
and the brainy men of the country never thought it worth their 
while to devote their attention to the commonplace question of 
how to make and keep the roads. That has been lost sight of. 
Let it be looked upon as one of the biggest problems of the com¬ 
munity, and we will arouse public sentiment and have legislation 
that will be fair, just, and equitable, that/will bring about this im¬ 
provement, and every member of the community will benefit, 
whether in city, town, or county. What would be the good of 
the country, if it were not for the transportation system? That is 
made up of railroads, the highway of the sea, and the common wag¬ 
on roads. In the province of Ontario we have a regular network of 
railroads, so complete as to almost make us say that no other road 
will be necessary, yet there are only 8,000 miles of railroad and 60 - 
000 miles of wagon road. Every ounce which is carried by railroad 
or steamship must pass over the wagon roads of the country. Close 
up the wagon roads of the country, and your marvelous system of 
railroads will starve in idleness, or the ocean vessels would rust at 
their moorings. 

This is, then, an important question, the biggest end of the great 
system of transportation. I have for the first time had this oppor¬ 
tunity of coming through these Western states, and have viewed 
something of your railroad system, stretching as it does from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, built with a skill and daring that compels 
the admiration of the civilized world. These were not built in any 
haphazard way, but by the organized effort of brainy people of this 
nation. They got themselves together for the purpose of laying 
down trunk roads of the transportation system, and as a result 
there has been built a marvelous system; yet, when you come to 
count up, this is only a small percentage of the great transportation 
system that is necessary to carry the stuff from the farm, from the 
field, from the mine, to the markets of the world. The bigger end 
of the transportation system still has to be undertaken, to get the 
full benefit. Why was it that that particular individual who to-day 
in the public interest has seen fit upon this Pacific Coast to call for 
the first time a Congress of Road Makers, but that he realized from 
the experience he has had in the greater problems of transportation 
that the greater the improvement upon the lesser, the better for the 
greater. It is a man of this kind that you want to have at the head 
of your Association. You want men who do not see for the sea¬ 
son, but see into the future, look beyond the sky line where the 
great roads go down. They are the men who are required in the 
western part of this continent to bring about these great improve¬ 
ments that still remain to be made, and I say in this connection that 
you have undertaken marvelous works and carried them to a suc¬ 
cessful completion. This question of the improvement of the com¬ 
mon roads still remains to be taken hold of, and I think it is a sub- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


69 


ject for congratulation to find that such men as your present Presi¬ 
dent and the University of your state have seen fit to take hold of 
this matter in the manner in which it should be taken hold of, and 
I believe in the next five years' time you will have an organization 
laid down here for the improvement of roads that will bring about 
and make the road improvement in keeping with the other improve¬ 
ments made in every other connection, and when we return here, if 
Fortune permit it, in a few years’ time, we will have the opportu¬ 
nity of being driven over some of the ideal macadam roads of the 
state of Washington. (Cheers.) 

Mr. Samuel Hill: I hardly know how to express the thanks of 
this Congress to Mr. Campbell. I have heard many addresses on 
the road question, but I don’t think I ever heard an address that 
covered so completely the ground necessary to be covered on this 
topic. I might say that every paper presented here and every 
address given will be carefully printed and published as the last 
word on the question of road building to-day in this country in book 
form. 

Mr. M. O. Eldredge: I would like to ask Mr. Campbell two 
questions: 

1. In the drainage of the road in wet places and in mountain sec¬ 
tions, do you ever use the subdrains or tile drains? 

2. What method do you adopt in the Parliament of the Dominion 
in maintaining the state roads after they are once built? 

Mr. Campbell: In answer to your first question, we adopt the 
system of side ditches or gutters for the carrying off the surface 
water. In clay of a retentive character we use subdrains of porous 
tile. In laying the tiles we find it is necessary to be very careful. 
We usually put sawdust or gravel underneath the tile, and cover 
this with coarse material, or material that will form a sort of filter, 
and attract the moisture from the road to let it readily into the 
tiles. In reply to your second question, the road is maintained by 
the county council that constructed them, under the supervision 
of the county superintendent. He goes over the roads, and our 
instructions to him are to maintain these roads, or repair them, by 
never letting them get out of repair. 

Mr. Lancaster: Have you not built some roads of a thickness of 
6 inches? 

Mr. Campbell: Yes: many of them, as I pointed out. We look 
upon 6 inches of crushed stone properly applied on a well-drained 


70 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


foundation as being just as competent for the third-class roads as 
16 inches would be for the roads that have the heavier traffic. 

Mr. Eldredge: Do you ask for state aid in the maintenance of 
the roads? 

Mr. Campbell: No. 

Mr. Samuel Hill: I agree with what Mr. Campbell says as to 
the foundation of the road. If you have the bottom right, you have 
everything right. Mr. Campbell has spoken about our streets here, 
and the man who made these streets is here to-day. He has a paper 
which it will take him about 16 minutes to read, and, as we have 
that much time before noon recess, I will ask Mr. R. H. Thomson, 
our city engineer, to read his paper on “Why and How Cities are 
Built.” 

Mr. Thomson, who was heartily received, said: 

My paper is on an entirely different topic to that which has pre¬ 
ceded it. It was produced by the very conditions which Mr. Camp¬ 
bell has indicated as having prevailed in Canada. In Canada it 
seems that the gospel of Good Roads is propagated by the Gov¬ 
ernment. In Washington the gospel of Good Roads is promulgated 
by Samuel Hill. Last fall Mr. Hill asked, me to go with him to a cer¬ 
tain county seat in a very rich county in the state of Washington. 
I will have to admit that he used some little deception in getting 
me to go there. He thought that perhaps even I might not be 
brave enough to face the hostiles in that territory on the question 
of good roads. As we drove to the county seat, a city which aspires 
to be at some time a very great city, we were dragged through mud so 
deep that on coming to the crossing of the city streets it took two 
of us to lift the front wheels of the buggy while the horse pulled it 
over, and I was not surprised, after being brushed and washed, to find 
that I had been taken there for the purpose of giving an address on 
Good Roads. Neither was I surprised to find the people hostile to my 
interference, and at having people coming to them from other cities to 
tell them how to build roads, and they living right there. Knowing it 
was a difficult subject to broach, I started in with a little talk on how 
large cities grew, attempting to appeal to the pride of the citizens of 
that city, and get their co-operation in the matter of road building, and 
to get them to understand that good roads were the vitals and essence 
of success and that they must have good roads if they would grow. 
Doing that, we started away off, and approached them gently, and 
I am pleased to say we parted without any scars upon us, in fact, 
with the good will of the community, and Mr. Hill being pleased 
with the prelude, asked me to write it down and tell it to this Congress, 
so that others might have some similar means of making peace with 
their community. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


71 


HOW AND WHY CITIES GROW. 

By Reginald H. Thomson. 

Gentlemen: 

From the earliest dawn of history men have inclined to associate 
themselves together in those assemblages which we call cities. 
The purpose of the first city building is not clearly defined in his¬ 
tory, but the purpose of the village is well understood. For many 
centuries the village was occupied by those neighbors collected to¬ 
gether in close relationship one to the other, for the purposes of 
companionship and protection, so that from the beginning the vil¬ 
lage has been, to a certain extent, a camp or stronghold. Some 
of the large cities of the past were built at enormous expense for 
military purposes, strategic centers of military control having been 
chosen, and the city located with reference to its relationship to the 
territory to be governed. Other cities grew wholly from commer¬ 
cial enterprise, and it is this class which has endured through time, 
which continues to maintain its identity, and with reference, to 
which I am expected to speak. The growth of such cities is, to the 
minds of many, an unsolved mystery, and they are frequently look¬ 
ed upon as accidental occurrences, and it is possible that there are 
some cities of considerable size for which the cause underlying 
their growth would be hard to determine. Nevertheless it has 
'been well affirmed that commercial cities grow by immutable law, 
even though they may appear to grow by accident; yet, although 
they may grow by immutable law, as in every other thing in which 
man is interested, man can either aid or hinder that development 
which the law permits. 

Under the law of the body, the heart drives the life blood into 
every part for its proportional and symmetrical growth; yet, as the 
result of disease or other disturbance, the arteries leading to the 
different parts of the body may become choked, and the flow of 
blood to those parts may be so diminished in quantity as to permit 
those portions so deprived of food to shrivel. Tack of food or im¬ 
paired digestion also may cause the impoverishing or the wasting 
away of the entire body. In the same manner and to the same 
extent, the impairing of the arterial highways leading to, or those 
within, a city, or the permitting of unsanitary conditions to exist 
in or near a city, may cause its destruction, as similar conditions 

destroy the body. . , 

For long ages it was impossible for the city, except under the 
most peculiarly favorable circumstances, to advance beyond the 
size of a village, or to exercise functions other than that of the 
village, as we now understand the term. During the greater part 
of the period of history there has been somewhere upon the face 
of the earth some collection of houses sufficiently large of itself 
to be styled a city; but this collection has usually been the seat 
of government, and as such was made and maintained, so long as it 
existed, by the forces which maintained the government. Follow- 


T2 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


ing the chronology of the ages, we find some periods in which no 
city of any size whatever is indicated. Possibly there was a city 
existing somewhere as a seat of government, of which the record 
has not yet been made clear. Some fifty or sixty years ago, in a 
discussion of this subject, the expression was used, “This is the 
age of great cities.” Even at that time, the size of a great city as 
we now understand it was not comprehended, because the two 
great models of cities from which comparisons could then be made 
were Paris and London, and even at the time of making this remark 
London did not contain over a million and a half people, so that 
to the mind of speaker and hearer the thought of the age of great 
cities was the thought of an age in which there could be one or 
possibly two cities in the world with a population of a million and 
a half people, and also a number of a smaller size, some of which 
might aggregate six hundred thousand people in population. To 
make that same remark to-day, to wit, that this is the age of 
great cities, conveys to the minds of hearers a different impression, 
owing to the fact that they would immediately see in their mind’s 
eye a vision of a city of more than six millions population, and 
visions of nearly a score of cities containing one million and over, 
and many more than a score of cities containing half a million and 
over. 

Until recently there was manufactured in the village practically 
all of those things incidental to the life and the subsistence of its 
inhabitants, and Jor them only. Where more materials were manu¬ 
factured than filled the measure of local necessity, those villages 
became cities and centers of trade. The number of such, until 
very recent times, however, was very limited, owing to the fact 
that the manufacture and distribution in each village was usually 
intended to be, and was, sufficient only for the necessities of its 
immediate vicinity. As we look back upon the long series of 
centuries during which this condition prevailed, we style those ages 
“the ages of the homespun,” and, looking upon the conditions of 
the present, we find ourselves, not only in “an age of great cities,” 
but in “the age of the wholesale,” there being manufactured in 
one city all of the goods of a certain kind needful for and used by 
the inhabitants of many cities and villages. The change from the 
age of the homespun to the age of the wholesale was made un¬ 
wittingly. In the year 1788, James Watt, with his partner, Boulton, 
after considerable effort, persuaded the proprietors of the Albion 
Mills in London to begin the operation of their mills with one of 
their engines, and, so far as we know, this was the first application 
of steam to actual manufacture ever made, and on the day that 
Watt & Boulton’s engine first turned the burrs of the Albion Mills 
the gates were opened and the human race began to pass, as I have 
said, unwittingly and unconsciously, from “the age of the home- 
spun” to “the age of the wholesale,” and from that hour until this 
there has been an intensifying of conditions of every class and 
kind, dependent upon certain fixed laws. Philosophers have laid 
down the rule that in these days villages may still continue as 
friendly associations of citizens, and possibly as remnants of the 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


73 


age of the homespun, but that cities grow only where there is (a) 
“Cheap Bread” and (b) “Good Sanitation,” and, added to this, for 
permanence and stability, there must be (c) Stable Government 
and (d) Honest Tradesmen. Stability of government is neces¬ 
sary that there may be security to the investments made for the 
purpose of manufacture and commerce, and honesty of tradesmen 
must be had in order that there may be confidence in the breast of 
both producer and consumer; confidence on the part of the pro¬ 
ducer that goods committed to the hands of the tradesmen will be 
honestly accounted for, and confidence on the part of the con¬ 
sumer that the goods transmitted to them as the result of orders 
will be the identical goods designated in the bill. Admitting, 
therefore, that in a certain locality there exist the two latter con¬ 
ditions, “Stability of Government” and “Honesty of Tradesmen, 
we are still obliged to inquire as to the relationship which cheap 
bread and good sanitation holds, or may hold, thereto. 

By “Cheap Bread” it is understood that in the given community 
the cost of living in comparison with the daily wage is for some 
reason less than at other points. This economy of living will in 
great measure be dependent upon the relationship of the locality to 
the various sources of production, and this relationship is dependent 
almost entirely upon the cost of transportation between the given 
city and the sources of production. There might be ever so stable 
a government and ever so honest tradesmen in a given locality, 
and they might be ever so zealous for the upbuilding and the 
development of their territory; but if there were no means of easy 
access to that city, if the highways leading thereto were such as 
to prevent the most economical delivery of goods to or removal 
of manufactures from its gates, it could not thrive. The highways, 
therefore, become prime, if not supreme, controlling factors in the 
growth of a great city. In the consideration of the highways 
affecting a locality, we must take into account the following: 

1. The highway of the nations—the Sea. 

2. Rivers. 

3. Canals. 

4. Roadways, such as public roads. 

5. Railways. 

There are some great cities not located upon the highway of the 
nations, the Sea, and which are not even easily tributary thereto; 
but we will find that they have generally been built as govern¬ 
mental centers and maintained under peculiar conditions. The 
great cities of the world, in the past and to-day, are those which 
have the most easy and the most direct means of access to the 
ocean, or are located upon some great inland lake or sea, or at the 
confluence of freight-bearing streams. Possibly the most notable 
modern example of the rapid development and existence of a great 
city supposed to be not located upon any great natural stream or 
waterway is Berlin. This city is often represented as having 
sprung from the barren sands of Prussia. A careful examination of 
its conditions, however, reveals the fact that this city, for its finan- 


74 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


cial and commercial life, is dependent upon its highways, in part 
upon roads and railways, but chiefly upon highways of water; 
these, in this case, being canals. History records the fact that in 
1640 Berlin had but about 6,000 souls, but that about that time 
Frederick William, by the construction of a canal from thp Spree 
to the Oder, “caused Berlin to become an important center of 
foreign commerce and shipbuilding/’ and that he further laid the 
foundation of its prosperity by encouraging the settlement there, 
as the necessary “honest tradesmen” of the land, of Huguenot 
refugees from France, guaranteeing to them peace and tranquillity, 
so that, in the case of Berlin, its growth arose from its relationship 
to foreign commerce, and its stability of government, aided by 
honest tradesmen and good sanitation; but the vital life of its 
commerce has been, and is, dependent upon the cheapness of its 
water-borne freight—that is to say, its “Cheap Bread.” 

What might be deemed a favorable relation to the sea for the 
location of a city of to-day might be very different from what it 
was one hundred years ago. Probably until that day there had 
been no more favorable relation of the sea and land had by any 
city than that which had been enjoyed by those great cities which 
once flourished on the Mediterranean. About one hundred and fif¬ 
ty years B. C., there flourished near its shores Antioch, on the 
Orontes, Alexandria, Carthage, and Rome. Besides these, there 
were Tyre and Corinth, and others of equal or lesser size. Carth¬ 
age boasted of 700,000 souls, Rome of 500,000, Antioch of 400,000, 
and Alexandria of 300,000. They lived and grew under the same 
laws of growth which we now affirm as governing city develop¬ 
ment. Each had access to the fertile fields surrounding the shores 
of the great inland sea. Each (for purposes of war, it is true) had 
builded magnificent roadways within their own limits and to far 
distant lands. Each had developed wondrous water systems and 
sewers, some of which remain until this day. They lived, each and 
all of them, under the law of “Cheap Bread” and “Good Sanita¬ 
tion,” re-enforced by stable government and popular tradesmen. 
This was the first age of great cities; for of a truth we are now 
in the second age, and this age is dependent upon the successful 
harnessing of new, and to them unknown, forces of nature, all 
springing from and dating from the successful installation of the 
steam engine referred to above. 

After the experimental stage in the use of the engine installed in 
the Albion Mills by Watt & Boulton had been passed, it became 
evident that, where steam could be used, enormous quantities of 
grain or other goods could be handled at one place and with much 
less expense; that is to say, that at that place there would be 
“Cheap Bread.” To encourage the importation of grain and other 
raw materials from the rural districts to those places of cheap man¬ 
ufacture, canals were improved, highways developed, and the inven¬ 
tive genius of man presently brought forth the steamboat and the 
locomotive, each the bearers of burdens to and from the favorable 
centers of manufacture and distribution. For example, with the 
larger and more speedy vessels on the sea, and with the favorable 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


75 

waters of the Thames as a harbor, and with the inland canals and 
macadam highways to and from London, it now had the oppor¬ 
tunity to, and did, outstrip Carthage and Rome and the other 
cities of the Mediterranean in its manufacturing and commercial 
institutions, although giving less attention to other features of 
municipal life than did they. Death by plague and by other con¬ 
tagious diseases had in times past visited London with disastrous 
results, and to prevent their recurrence the mind of man was given 
to the solution of the problems of life, and as a result the laws of 
health were more fully developed than they ever had been there¬ 
tofore, and as the population of the city grew the ability to con¬ 
tinue in growth was safeguarded by this better and clearer knowl¬ 
edge of the laws of life. 

The highway, however, which brings the freight to the city, is 
not the only one that is essential to its life and best development; 
but the means of intercourse between the various parts of the city 
must be made especially easy, so that freight which has been 
brought from afar, on good roads or by water carriage, at a mini¬ 
mum of cost, shall not have its value destroyed by the tax imposed 
in conveying it from the terminal of the long-distance haul to the 
place of manufacture. This requires the making of arterial high 
ways through the city, so as to bring freights arriving over any 
route or by any conveyance actually to the factory door at the least 
possible cost, both for the purposes of delivery and for the distribu¬ 
tion of the results of manufacture. These arteries may be road¬ 
ways, or they may be canals, or they may be railways. As a rule, 
for actual success as seen in the world’s marts, there must be all 
of these forms of highways present, and suited to the carrying of 
the heaviest burdens at the least cost. None of them can be lightly 
neglected by those who would prevail. With these present, that is to 
say, after the freight has been cheaply delivered and the raw material 
is ready to be converted into the manufactured product, if the 
workmen be not strong and quick, if the vital blood of life course 
not freely through their veins, if there be some other locality, of 
reasonably equal position as to the handling of freight, where man’s 
mind is more active and his fingers more nimble, that locality will 
certainly become the greater center of manufacture. These condi¬ 
tions of active body and active mind depend upon good sanitation. 
Good Sanitation is dependent primarily upon climatic, and secon¬ 
darily upon artificial, conditions, which artificial conditions are 
equally, if not more, important than are the climatic. Every work¬ 
man engaged in the battle of life must be able, as part of his daily 
food, to enjoy the use of a reasonable supply of good water. This 
is the first requisite of good sanitation; and, second, there must be 
provision for the immediate removal and proper disposal of the 
wastes of the body; and, third, as the final and equal prerequisites 
of the ability to maintain and to continue good sanitation, there 
must be in the city perfect streets and perfect drainage. I have 
referred to the great change made in Berlin, their first sewers hav¬ 
ing been built in 1882; death rate then 36 per 1,000 now about 16 
per 1,000. As long as any city maintains filthy streets, it will be 


76 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


subject to the recurrence of most deadly and appalling outbreaks 
of devastating disease. As soon as hard surface streets and fair 
sewers are laid down, new vigor comes to its inhabitants and the 
span of their lives is lengthened. 

After a city has become established, the law of gravity tends to 
add to its population. There will be those who will be attracted 
thither simply because of its size,, as compared with some other 
place had in mind. Others will be attracted because of the pres¬ 
ence of congenial spirits; the more of the class, the more attractive 
to those of the kind. For instance, a coterie of artists will attract 
other artists, and so on; each group or class drawing others, of 
their kind. This law of gravity works continuously and persist¬ 
ently; but the effectiveness even of the application of the law. of 
gravity upon city growth is limited by its fulfillment of the require¬ 
ments for “Cheap Bread” and “Good Sanitation.” 

The Good Roads Association specializes its labors toward mak¬ 
ing and maintaining good roadways. The value of such roadways 
is frequently computed purely with reference to the economy of 
the delivery of suburban or foreign products and general, freight 
movements. Probably this resultant of a good roadway is dwelt 
upon more than any other, because it is believed that this particu¬ 
lar view will appeal to the mind of those who must bear the cost 
and burden of constructing them more strongly than any other 
argument. I am not sure that this is the highest use of these road¬ 
ways. They are the arteries of the community, and they cannot 
be maintained unless they be clean, and with every step that is 
taken toward developing the hard surfaces of well-prepared roads 
there is a step taken toward the higher physical, mental, and moral 
development of the community. It is an element both of Cheap 
Bread and Good Sanitation. It is an element vital to the develop¬ 
ment of the community, and they who are engaged in the advocacy 
of their construction are truly engaged in a warfare against disease, 
against poverty, against crime, and in behalf of health, vitality, 
and virtue. 


AFTERNOON SESSION. 

The first paper read at the afternoon session was on the subject of 
“The Farmer and the Road,” by Mr. F. N. Godfrey, of New York. 

In introducing his subject Mr. Godfrey said that great changes 
had taken place since the introduction of the automobile. He said: 

When the automobiles first made their appearance on our roads, 
they frightened our horses; but the farmers have now come to 
recognize the automobile as any other vehicle, and our horses have 
also grown to recognize the automobile, and not to fear it, as they 



MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


did at first. A few years ago we would drive a horse out on the 
road, and it was actually risking our lives to meet an automobile ; 
but to-day we take a colt out of the field, and he fears it no more 
than the people, sometimes not half as much. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: Is that due to the difference in the road 
surface, or the training of the horse? (Laughter.) 

Mr. Godfrey: On account of the horses getting used to it. 

Mr. Thomson: Not because of the improvement of the roads. 
(Laughter.) 

Mr. Godfrey: I broke a horse to drive this spring, and it was a 
surprise to me when we drove on the highway that the mare feared 
an automobile no more than another horse or vehicle. She had no 
fear of the trolleys when we drove into the city. I attribute this 
to the horse being raised alongside of the highways and becoming 
used to it. 


THE FARMER AND THE ROAD. 

The problem of highways has probably concerned the farmers 
of this country more than any other class of people, inasmuch as 
upon them alone, for many years, devolved the building and main¬ 
taining of the roads. From the old tortuous wood roads, following 
the streams very largely, or a blazed trail over the hills and moun¬ 
tains, the corduroys and slab ways through the swamps and low¬ 
lands, to the present good and improved highways, graded and 
straightened almost to the grade of a steam railroad, the farmers 
have largely been the factor bearing the burden of expense, and 
therefore the ones most to be reckoned with. 

In the early history of the country the blazed trail and first 
wagon roads were winding and long, often making the distance 
double that that now is, as the country has been cleared and the 
roads straightened and graded. As the country was settled and 
new farms were opened up, new highways were built without much 
thought as to grade and line, and to-day we have in many states, 
especially in the East, very crooked and irregular roads. Gradually 
the sentiment for better and improved roads has grown. The 
coming of the bicycle started the movement with greater celerity 
than any other one thing for many years. Then the arrival, of 
the automobile has no doubt culminated in the climax of road im¬ 
provement, by creating a greater interest with the whole people, 
until all are ready to lend a hand in the improvement of the high¬ 
ways. 

The farmers at first have been loth to favor the more expensive 
improvement of the roads, believing the movement was largely in 
the interest of the manufacturer and users of automobiles; but, 


78 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


be that as it may, as soon as an improved road is properly con¬ 
structed through a farming section, the farmer is brought at once 
1 to see the value of it in the great advantage to him in the move¬ 
ment of his produce to market, and, since the whole people are 
assisting in the expense, we farmers are withdrawing our objec¬ 
tions and are very willing to assist. 

Taking up the improvement of the highways, let me emphasize 
this fact: That the market roads should be the first to be im¬ 
proved, thus bringing about greater prosperity to the country, by 
reducing the cost of marketing the enormous products of the soil, 
in lessening the cost of hauling to shipping points and nearby mar¬ 
kets. Later the trunk lines may be connected up, to accommodate 
the wealthy seeker of pleasure in touring the country with the 
automobile. It is the laboring man, the great producer of the 
country, those who must use the highways every day of the year, 
whose interests must be looked to first if the prosperity of this 
country is to continue. The pleasure seeker, who uses the roads 
only during the summer months and for pleasure only, finds but 
little trouble now on the highways, even if only dirt roads, if they 
are contented in driving their machines at a reasonable rate of 
speed. 

In the construction of the improved roads of the country I must 
speak more especially of those of my own state, knowing more of 
the situation, there than anywhere else. Until about twenty years 
ago the construction and maintenance of the highways were almost 
entirely dependent upon the farmers and owners of property adja¬ 
cent thereto; they being taxed at the rate of a day’s work for each 
five hundred dollars of assessed valuation, the work in the different 
towns being under the general supervision of a highway commis¬ 
sioner, and subdivided into districts under an officer called the 
pathmaster, who ordered the farmers and those liable to road tax 
out to work the roads as time and convenience suited him. It was 
quite often made a sort of gala day for a round-up of the neighbors, 
with but little real work done. There were notable exceptions, 
however, where the farmers took pride in improving the road, 
gradually shaming those who cared but little for a good highway, 
till a decided improvement of the roads was becoming noticeable. 

Then came the road scraper, first a square stick of timber with 
an old upright sawplate attached. This was an excellent tool for 
smoothing the roads in the spring and filling up the ruts. Then 
the wheel scraper or grader came into use, and in the hands of an 
intelligent and skillful man is an excellent tool still largely in use 
on dirt roads, but in the hands of the ignorant and unskilled does 
more harm than good. 

About twenty years ago the law was changed so that corpora¬ 
tions must pay a highway tax, which brought into the towns a little 
more labor on highways, that helped improve them. 

, Then came in 1898 the Higbie-Armstrong Act, which provided 
that the state should aid in building and improving such roads as 
the county and towns decided on, the state paying 50 per cent., the 
county 35 per cent., and the town 15 per cent., and about two thou- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


79 


sand miles of road have been improved under this act, called the 
“Bonding Act.” 

In 1903 the Fuller-Plank Act, providing state aid to such towns 
as preferred to change from the old labor system to a moneyed 
system, placing the work in the hands of the highway commis¬ 
sioner to expend the moneys devoted to this purpose as his judg¬ 
ment dictated. This act provided for the payment by the state of 
fifty cents on each dollar raised by the towns. This method has 
proved of great value in the greater improvement of the roads, as in 
the hands of intelligent men selected as highway commissioners 
a more uniform system was begun and carried out. 

The Patrons of Husbandry, now well known and commonly 
called the Grange, having become a strong organization in New 
York, began to take an active part in directing legislation in the 
interest of agriculture, began to study the road question, and, feel¬ 
ing that the laws along this line could be improved, favored the 
placing of the improvement of the highways in the hands of a com¬ 
mission, instead of under the direction of the State Engineer. I 
ought to have said that the Higbie-Armstrong Act provided for 
the bonding of the state for fifty million dollars to the improvement 
of the roads. In 1906-07 the Grange prepared and introduced 
amendments to the Armstrong and Fuller-Plank measures, provid¬ 
ing for a graduated scale of assistance to the several towns of the 
state according to the assessed valuation per mile of the highways 
the town contained. These measures were found practicable and 
valuable, and were passed and became laws. It was found at this 
time that the Bonding Act was unconstitutional, and that no one 
would take the bonds of the state for the improvement of the high¬ 
ways. So the Grange came to the rescue by preparing a bonding 
bill which was declared sound, and this was passed by the same 
Legislature and received the approval of the Governor. At this 
time it was thought best that a committee of the Legislature be ap¬ 
pointed to investigate the highway situation and report to the next 
Legislature. Such committee was appointed, and in their report 
they advised a revision of the highway laws, which was done, at 
the next session, that of 1907-08, recommending also a highway 
commission. The laws advocated by the Grange and passed were 
incorporated in the Revised Laws, and now the improvement of the 
roads of New York state is under the direction of a highway com¬ 
mission of three members, appointed by the Governor in January, 
1909. The commission thus appointed is required to select and 
appoint two deputies; the duties of the first deputy being the care 
and maintenance of improved roads, and the duties of the second 
deputy are the care and supervision of unimproved roads and the 
highway bridges of the state. . 

There are about 80,000 miles of public highway m the state ot 
New York, and not to exceed 10,000 miles can be improved under 
the fifty million bond issue. Seventy thousand miles must, there¬ 
fore, be improved by the towns, with the aid of the state, under the 
direction of the deputy in charge of the Bureau of Town Highways. 
The appropriation by the towns for the maintenance of these 70,000 


80 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


miles of public highways, or the amount of money raised by tax 
in the towns for the maintenance of these 70,000 miles, is about 
$3,500,000, and the moneys paid by the state to aid the towns on 
the Grange plan is about $1,500,000. In the care of earth roads the 
state is divided into 9 districts, presided over by 9 district super¬ 
visors. There are 57 district or county superintendents of high¬ 
ways, appointed by the board of supervisors of each county in the 
state, making a second subdivision, and under the district or county 
superintendents there are 933 town superintendents. According to 
the best information obtainable before I left New York state, the 
second deputy commissioner stated that there are between 24,000 
and 30,000 men and between 5,000 and 6,000 teams employed in 
caring for the earth roads of the state. 

The annual cost for the repair and construction of bridges in the 
state of New York is about $1,400,000. The amount of money 
annually expended for the purchase and repair of machinery is 
about three-quarters of a million, and the amount expended for the 
removal of obstructions caused by snow and other miscellaneous 
purposes is a little over half a million dollars per year. 

There are about 2,000 miles of road that have been constructed 
under the Bonding Act. These roads are mostly macadam high¬ 
ways; but there are 6,000 miles of crushed stone or macadam 
roads constructed by the towns in addition thereto, and also about 
8,000 miles of road which have been surfaced with gravel by the 
towns with the aid of the state. There are a trifle over 300 miles 
which are being constructed at the present time, making a sum 
total in the neighborhood of 2,500 miles of state and county roads 
which will be completed during the year 1909. - Add this to the 
6,000 miles of stone roads built by the towns and the 8,000 miles of 
gravel roads, and we have to-day in the state of New York 16,500 
miles of improved roads. It is safe to say that at least between 
30,000 and 40,000 miles of road in addition thereto have been 
shaped and crowned or turnpiked, so to speak, so that within the 
bounds of the Empire State we have a system of improved roads 
involving between 50,000 and 60,000 miles of highway. 

The farmers of New York state feel that too much money is be¬ 
ing expended in the improvement of the highways for the kind of 
highways we are getting. There is too much red tape, too many 
incompetent men engaged as inspectors, etc., too much money ex¬ 
pended in preliminary work, such as surveying, mapping, and office 
work, too little attention given to preparing the foundation and 
drainage. The question of drainage is perhaps the most important 
of all, for without proper and sufficient drainage no method of 
road construction can ever be made successful. Surface drainage 
will not suffice in making a permanent road in most sections. Tile 
or underdrainage must be the system, before permanency will be 
maintained. The larger number of our highways must still be dirt 
or gravel for ages to come, and a large proportion of these can be 
made almost as good as macadam, most of the year, by properly 
tiling them, and no money can be expended to greater advantage 
than in tiling. Surface drains soon fill with slush and snow and 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


81 


refuse, which hold the water, permitting it to permeate the road 
bed, which softens it and allows the frost to penetrate. Even the 
macadam or Telford will not stand frost, but which by proper tiling 
will keep the roadbed dry and hard. 

The highways of the country are of vastly more importance than 
the so-called waterways, which are receiving so much attention 
just now. The deep waterways, such as the Great Lake system and 
such rivers 'as are by nature deep and navigable, should be main¬ 
tained ; but transportation by water on canals and streams that 
have to be maintained by state and nation at enormous expense are 
antiquated and slow, and should be relegated to the past. The 
highways, railroads, and deep natural waterways should and must 
be maintained, and the whole people should help to do this. Per¬ 
haps in the near future we shall have the new and modern method 
of transportation to cope with, and laws will have to be enacted 
controlling the navigation by air through the great Milky Way.. 

The Grange, the great farmers’ organization, stands for the im¬ 
provement of the highways of this country through national aid, 
believing the national government can do no greater work toward 
the prosperity of this great country than that of improving the 
highways, thus aiding the greatest industry of the country in trans¬ 
porting to the markets the magnificent and bounteous products of 
nature at the lowest possible cost and yielding to the producer the 
profits entitled therefrom. 

Mr. Godfrey, during the reading of his paper, interpolated sev¬ 
eral instructive remarks. For example, he said: 

I was the first one to introduce the square-timber drag or scraper 
into our community, and we were ridiculed and laughed at, saying 
that it would do more damage than good, and from that square 
stick of timber came the road scraper, which is being used in our 
community very intelligently. 

I have noticed in former addresses at this convention that very 
little has been said about tiling. All speak of drainage and. good 
foundation; but they have neglected a very important point in not 
considering the subject of subdrainage or tile drainage more thor¬ 
oughly. No good road can be maintained on level land—that is, 
land that is ordinarily level—by shallow surface drains through 
our section. The surface drain gets filled with snow and refuse 
during the winter time, and it fills with slush and water soaking in, 
instead of running off, and the soil underneath the macadam be¬ 
comes permeated with moisture and wet, and away goes the road. 
Miles of road have been destroyed by neglecting to take care of 
the water; and, while they put their surface drains, this does not 
take care of the water in the winter time. A tile drain will prop¬ 
erly take care of the water, so that no moisture goes under the 

macadam. . , . f ... 

Any farmer who has done tile draining on his farm well knows 
the value of tile drainage, and I have often heard it stated by some: 
In laying tile drains, you should fill the drain with stone or some 


82 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


loose material. Water will find its way to a tile drain through the 
hardest kind of blue clay for many feet. Two drains, 3 feet deep 
and 32 feet apart, in blue clay, will thoroughly drain that soil of 
surface water. 

I lived alongside the Erie Railway, and'up to a few years ago 
they were having trouble with their road in the spring of the year 
in consequence of the frost, etc. It follows along the side of the 
valley in a side hill, and although they had a good open drain they 
always had trouble till they tile-drained it. A few years ago they 
laid a tile drain for many miles along the upper side of the track, 
and since that time they have had no trouble in the spring of the 
year by the road getting out of shape, thus proving the value of 
tile drainage over surface drainage or gutters. A large number of 
our highways must be dirt or gravel for ages to come, and a large 
portion can be made almost as good as macadam by properly tiling 
them. 

At the close of his paper, Mr. Godfrey said: 

I might say a word in regard to some of the waterways that 
New York has had to contend with in the last few years. Ten years 
ago there was nine million dollars voted to improve the Erie Canal, 
running from Buffalo to Albany or Troy, entering the Hudson river 
at that point. There was very little improvement, apparently, from 
the expenditure of nine million dollars. About four years ago, 
maybe five, the people voted to expend $101,000,000 to enlarge the 
Erie Canal to a barge canal, and that is being expended; but it is 
the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the people. Never in the 
history of this country will that canal be made valuable and profit¬ 
able to the people. It is simply an expense to the state, without 
any recompense to the people therefrom. We do not need canals 
in this country. The many railroads that are crossing our country 
can transport our crops to much better advantage and cheaper 
than the people can afford to maintain a canal for that purpose. 
This canal across our state is for the purpose of transporting the 
products of the West to the seaboard. No tolls are charged for 
that purpose. It is a free waterway, and yet the people derive no 
benefit from it whatever. 


GOVERNMENT AND OTHER AID IN ROAD BUILDING. 

This was the subject allotted to Mr. R. M. Brereton, of Oregon, 
and in an exhaustive paper he did full justice to his subject. In 
commencing his paper, he said: 

When the president of the Good Roads Association called on me 
a week or two ago to give you an address on Good Roads, I hesi¬ 
tated about doing so, because at my age—I am close on 80—I felt 
that younger men ought to take up this line of boosting good 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


83 


roads; but my heart is in it. For 58 years I have been interested in 
the construction and maintenance of roads and railroads and irri¬ 
gation works in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres of the 
earth, so that I can claim to have the authority of real practical 
experience, instead of mere theories, and what I want to say to 
you this afternoon, if it is possible for me to give you encourage¬ 
ment in the promoting of Good Roads throughout the country, I 
hope I shall be able to do so. 

It has been my experience in my professional career in England, 
Scotland, India, and North America to come in contact with the 
farming communities to a large extent. With the millions of farm¬ 
ers in India, I have seen the burdens put upon them; with the 
million or more farmers in the United Kingdom, I have seen how 
they have borne the burden of the roads. I have seen it on this 
coast in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wy¬ 
oming, and Nevada, where the pioneer farmers have constructed 
and been maintaining the roads for the benefit of the public. That 
has been a great injustice. I am not going to talk about the con¬ 
struction or maintenance of the roads. My professional brethren 
of a younger generation can talk about that. But I want to give 
you an old man’s experience in regard to the financing of roads. 
I want to show you a better way for securing the money that is 
necessary to build good roads. You cannot get it out of the agri¬ 
cultural community. That is an injustice, for they have neither the 
ability, nor the time, nor the skill to furnish the money for the 
rapid transit traffic that is upon the roads at the present day. From 
my knowledge of sixty years I can tell you how much I have seen 
of the progress that has been made in all kinds of human life and 
progress. If you will permit me, I will give you a few instances. 


A PROPOSITION FOR A NEW WAY OF FINANCING THE 
CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF ROADS. 

By R. M. Brereton, M. Inst. C. E., Ex-Chief Resident Engineer 
oe the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, Connecting Bom¬ 
bay with Calcutta and Madras, Ex-Chiee Consulting Engi¬ 
neer eor the Irrigation (1,200 miles) oe the Entire San 
Joaquin Valley, California, Ex-Surveyor oe Public Roads 
and Bridges oe the County oe Norfolk, England, Ex-Com¬ 
missioner to the Late Duke of Sutherland; Having the 
Sole Charge of Those Estates ; Special Pleader for the Es¬ 
tablishment of Good Roads, and for the Utilization of the 
Natural Underground Waters, by Means of the Well Sys¬ 
tem of Irrigation, in the Willamette and Other Valleys of 
Oregon. 

Introductory. 

My credentials in writing the following paper on the necessity 
for the nationalization, in the forms of finance and general admin¬ 
istration of the Public Roads, are that I am nearly four score years 
M.R.B.—7 


84 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


in physical age, and have actively followed the profession of a Civil 
Engineer during the past fifty-eight years in both the Eastern and 
Western Hemispheres. 

During my life I have seen the marvelous progress made in 
national and international commerce and social intercourse through 
civilized human endeavor, skill, and scientific enlightenment, which 
evolution the engineers of a younger generation have not witnessed. 

I have seen, and have been a participant in, the dawn and the 
zenith of the railroad arterial system of internal and transcon¬ 
tinental communications, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North 
America. 

I have seen the dark age of the primitive oil and gas lamps and 
tallow dip transformed into the light age of electric illuminations 
of city, town, and home. 

I have seen the shilling rate of postage on letters reduced to the 
present penny and half-penny rate. 

I have seen, and was employed on the construction of, the first 
largest ocean steamer, the Great Eastern, which laid the first At¬ 
lantic Cable of electrical communication between Britain and North 
America. 

I have seen ocean communications between England and Amer¬ 
ica reduced in average time from 20 days to five days. 

I have seen the Thames and the Hudson rivers undermined by 
the construction of subways for car line and passenger service. 

I have seen and observed the introduction and construction of 
both the cable and electric car lines of England, Europe, and 
America. 

I have seen, and participated in, the irrigation of vast areas of 
arid and semi-arid lands in India and America, through which the 
food land has been greatly extended in area, and the population 
increased, and the welfare and well-being of both countries en¬ 
hanced. 

I have seen the utilization of both natural and artificial waterfalls 
for power purposes, the source of which is the annual rainfall, the 
everlasting “unearned increment” of the product of the sun’s evap¬ 
oration of oceanic waters, and of the aerial currents. 

As a living witness of the incoming and outcome of all these won¬ 
derful transformations and utilizations of natural resources, 
through civilized human effort, skill, and intelligence, I feel, in my 
old age, fully assured that the present important problem of Good 
Roads, with the more rational, equitable, and economic financing 
and administration thereof, will shortly be solved in a manner sat¬ 
isfactory to the peoples of Great Britain and Ireland and of the 
United States. 

During the past 58 years I have been an active participator in 
the construction and maintenance of public roads, and have seen 
and carefully studied the methods followed in Great Britain, 
Europe, India, and the United States of America. 

For six years I had the general supervision of all the public high¬ 
ways of the county of Norfolk, containing about 5,000 miles of pub¬ 
lic roads, as well as the responsibility of carrying out the then new 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


85 

oM 878 ° ad '' s y stem under the provisions of the Act of Parliament 

During this service in Norfolk, I also acted as auditor of all the 
public road expenditure in the county under the local government 
. ’ an f , e ^" e by gained a close insight of the past and present 
system of administration, and of its weakness and injustice in the 

system^of°die TJnited States^**^ *** beCn ’ *** StiI ‘ the ge ” eraI 
When Commissioner to the late Duke of Sutherland (whose es¬ 
tates in Scotland embraced over a million and a third acres and a 
population thereon of over 33,000), I was chairman of the commis¬ 
sioners of the public roads in the Highlands of Scotland. 

for my six years’ services on the roads and bridges of Norfolk 
i a ^ est ^ mon i a ^ signed by the county authority, the High 
Sheriff, the Lord Lieutenant, the present King of England, the 
principal landowners and rate payers, and the Bishop and clergy. 
One of the principal landowners was the Earl of Roseberv ex- 
Pnme Minister of England. 

Norfolk is the chief agricultural county of England. It contains 

n£-. a n rea of a k° ut 1,891,-00.0 acres, a population of 468,000, and $11- 
971,295. 

Norfolk has about 1,400 miles of main roads, or about 28 per 
cent, of its total mileage of public roads which have been estab¬ 
lished as “main highways” since 1878. The average annual cost of 
maintenance of these roads is $190 per mile, while the average cost 
of similar class of roads in England and Wales is $360 per mile in 
the rural districts. 

Norfolk has about 2y 2 miles of all public roads to the square mile, 
and about three-fourths of a mile of main road to the square mile! 

Norfolk has always had a high reputation for good roads. In the 
seventeenth century King Charles II. said: “Norfolk should be 
cut into slices as roads for the rest of the kingdom.” 

R. M. Brbreton, m. Inst. C. E. 

Woodstock, Oregon. 


The Nationalization of the Public Roads System. 

During the past one hundred years the Public Roads of Great 
Britain and those of the United States have been viewed by the 
people and their governments from a local” rather than a national 
point, so that there has never been enough money and skill ex¬ 
pended in their proper construction and annual maintenance. 

The time is fully ripe for the English and American peoples and 
their governments to take a more comprehensive and national 
view of the extreme importance the public roads are to every form 
and degree of home, social, industrial, and commercial life. The 
unsatisfactory condition of even the main roads endured by the 
nation when the population was smaller, and when trade, industry, 
commerce, and all the products of agriculture, mine, and forest 
were infinitesimally small as compared with the present outcome, 
is no longer endurable. 


86 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


Railroads, electric car lines, motor cars, telegraphy, telephones, 
wireless telegraphy, rural mail and parcel delivery, have all com¬ 
bined to quicken the pulse of national movement, and install im¬ 
patience with delays in the mind of the present highly civilized 
public. 

The majority of the American people form no longer, anywhere, 
slow-moving pioneer communities. They want to be in closer and 
quicker touch with their local and outside sources of social life and 
business. 

The railroad artery of communication is rapidly enlarging in 
mileage and usefulness. Its sources of money for construction are 
not from any tax on the food lands of the nation, as are those of 
the public roads. 

The essential vein system—the public roads—to the railroad ar¬ 
tery does not respond to the needed social and business circulation. 

Through the lack of this wholesome circulation, society, com¬ 
merce, trade, and industry of every sort throughout the country 
are heavily handicapped with unnecessary cost and delay. 

The railroad service especially suffers from periodic congestion, 
and from extra expense in the provision of rolling stock, which re¬ 
mains idle during months because of the bad condition of the public 
roads. 

Over the whole of the Pacific Coast the railroad system is being 
projected into the rich wilds of plain and valley to enable more 
immigrants to come in and settle. 

These have to make, at their own expense, such temporary roads 
as they can spare time and money for. The Government sells the 
public lands to these settlers; but not one cent from this revenue 
goes to the establishment of the public roads, as was foreseen and 
provided for by the framers of the Constitution. Furthermore, in 
reclaiming the arid and swamp lands of the public domain by irri¬ 
gation and drainage for purposes of settlement, the Government 
gets back the entire cost thereof from the settlers, but provides no 
roads, as does the Government of India. The American farmer, in 
addition to the first cost of the land, pays the cost of reclamation, 
plus the cost of road construction, and plus the cost of annual main¬ 
tenance. 


Public Road Construction under the Constitution. 

The fathers and framers of the Constitution, in section 8 thereof, 
displayed their foresight and wisdom in providing for the never- 
ceasing need of internal and interstate communications by Post 
Offices and Roads at the national expense throughout the area of 
the United States, as and when called for. 

The language of this section is sufficiently explicit; it reads thus : 

“The 'Congress shall have power to provide for the general welfare of the 
United States; to regulate commerce among the several States; to establish 
Post Offices and Post Roads.” 

The framers of this section of the Constitution well knew in 
their own day that public roads were essential to the welfare and 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


87 


well-being of the nation, and that no national postal service could 
be established without the accompaniment of roads, and so they 
wrote “shall” instead of “may” have power to establish roads. To 
establish means nothing less than construction; but it does not 
include annual maintenance after construction. That part of it is 
local, not national, duty and policy. 

This reading of the Constitution was established by Congress 
under the administration of President Monroe. 

If the National Government fulfills faithfully this all important 
duty to the nation, as it does in the case of navigable waters and 
harbors, the local annual expenditure on the maintenance of the 
roads would be reduced fully one-half of the present; for the new 
roads on this Coast would be built on sound and skillful principles 
to bear the growing public traffic upon them. 

National Aid to Railroads. 

The incompleteness of the national policy in its relation to local, 
state, interstate, and transcontinental communications is well illus¬ 
trated in the partiality shown by the National Government to the 
railroad arterial portion thereof. 

The arterial system is more or less valueless without the vein 
system. If the arterial system needed national assistance in cost 
of construction, a fortiori does the vein system need it. Why so? 
Because the railroad system has its pecuniary resources for con¬ 
struction from national and worldwide capital seeking investment; 
whereas, under existing policy and old-time custom, the construc¬ 
tion of roads is purely a local duty, and a grievous and most unjust 
financial burden on the farming communities—that is, upon the 
food of the nation. 

The mileage of public roads must necessarily far exceed that of 
the railroad system, and the first cost in construction, as a rapidly 
increasing population creates a greater mileage of roads, will ap¬ 
proximate to, and may even exceed, the cost of the total railroad 
system throughout the Pacific Coast states. 

During the past 40 years Congress has made a free grant of 
266,000,000 acres, or 415,630 square miles, of the public domain to 
five transcontinental railroad systems, the total combined length of 
which is about 33,000 miles (8,060 acres per mile). This donation 
in area is equal to that of the whole of France and Germany, which 
contains a population of about one hundred millions. 

The area donated to the Northern Pacific Railroad contains 47,- 
000,000 acres, or 73,438 square miles. This is equal to the combin¬ 
ed areas of the six following states: New York, New Jersey, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware, which 
contain a population of sixteen million. 

$532,000,000 would be a low valuation of these land grants to 
the railroads. This amount would suffice to construct one hundred 
thousand miles of first-class roads in the Middle West and Pacific 
Coast states. 


88 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


When the fathers of the Constitution framed its section 8, the 
Railroad Age had not dawned; so that it could not have been in 
their minds when they provided for the construction of public roads. 

There are now about 400,000,000 acres of the unappropriated and 
unreserved public domain in the West, and the future sale of one- 
half this area will produce a revenue of many millions for future 
road construction, if Congress would help the road system as it 
has helped the railroad system. 

What is a service to all should be paid for by all the citizens, and 
public roads are an essential public service. 

One hundred years ago the National Government constructed 
700 miles of road, known as the “Cumberland Road” or “National 
Road,” which cost $6,824,919, or $9,750 per mile. This practical 
experiment in cost of road construction shows the wisdom and fore¬ 
sight of the framers of the Constitution in viewing the road ques¬ 
tion from a national standpoint. 

Use of Public Roads by the Postal Service Department. 

No better illustration of the actual national service of the public 
roads can be given to Congress and to the general public than the 
daily use made of them by the Postal Service of the Government. 
In 1888 the Postal Department distributed seven billions of pieces 
of postal matter, or 110 pieces per unit of the population, through 
57,000 post offices. 

In 1907 it distributed over twelve billions of pieces, or 160 pieces 
per unit, through 63,000 post offices, scattered throughout the coun¬ 
try. During this period of twenty years it has permanently estab¬ 
lished the Parcel Post and Money Order System in the rural dis¬ 
tricts, both of which are of an interstate and international char¬ 
acter, and add largely to the immense tonnage of mail matter which 
must be moved over the public roads, and cause additional wear 
and tear to the surface thereof. 

This National Department pays for its use of the railroad system; 
but it does not give a single cent for its daily use of the roads, 
bridges, and streets. Furthermore, it notifies its officers and the 
public as follows: “The establishment and maintenance of public 
roads is a matter wholly within the jurisdiction of state and local 
authorities, and a matter over which the P. O. D. has no control.” 
From this it is apparent that the provision made in the Constitution 
for the establishment of Post Roads at the national expense is ig¬ 
nored or forgotten by the National Government, by the states, and 
by the general public. 

The paramount agricultural interests, which furnish all the food 
and the great bulk of raw materials for the nation, are silent in 
the matter, and bear this unjust burden as best they can; so that 
it is no wonder that the public roads throughout the sparsely settled 
Middle West and Pacific Coast states are badly constructed and 
poorly maintained. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


89 


Railroad Traffic on the Public Roads. 

The immensity of this traffic and tonnage over the public roads, 
and its interstate and international nature, is far too little recog¬ 
nized in the present demand for good roads at the expense of the 
agricultural communities. 

Poor’s Manual of Railroad Statistics furnishes a comprehensive 
idea of the immensity of the live'and dead weight of humanity, and 
of its food and raw materials and supplies, and of its products of 
industry, which are conveyed and moved locally throughout the 
country yearly by the 220,000 miles of railroad which form the 
main arterial system of communication. 

In 1907 the number of passengers carried was over one billion. 
Averaging these at 100 pounds per unit (including personal bag¬ 
gage) the aggregate live weight amounts to over fifty millions of 
tons. The dead freight weight moved amounted to about one and 
one-half billion tons. 

Thus in one year this great arterial system distributed about two 
billions of tons of live and dead weight. It is reasonable to assume 
that the greater portion of this immense national traffic must have 
used the public roads, bridges, and streets throughout the rural and 
suburban districts of the United States, and caused most of the 
annual cost of their maintenance. 

The present Pacific Railroad Group serves a series of states 
wherein population is comparatively sparse and scattered, and a 
vast area of land very little developed, but producing an immense 
tonnage of grain, hay, fruits, minerals, lumber, cattle, sheep, dairy 
and poultry supplies, and manufactures. 

In this Group there are about 13,500 miles. < In 1907 the number 
of passengers carried was forty millions; weight thereof two mil¬ 
lion tons. The freight moved was about twenty-eight million tons, 
making a total of thirty million tons. 

Urgent Need for Road Improvement. 

The foregoing statements, showing the present and the increasing 
use of the public roads, and the immensity of the moving tonnage 
thereon, show very clearly that these must be more strongly and 
skillfully constructed and maintained to enable them to meet the 
public demand throughout the year. As railroads are viewed as 
Permanent Ways, so must the public roads be. Both involve a 
large expenditure of money per mile in first cost of construction in 
order to reduce the cost of annual maintenance. 

The policy of the railroad system in regard to the Permanent 
Way construction must be adopted for the public road system. 
Heavier steel rails and better drainage ballast is the policy of the 
railroad system. Well-drained foundations, good, tough, and dust- 

less surface, is the policy for the public roads. 

As the civil engineer has achieved this policy in railroad rerma- 


00 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


nent Way, he can be relied upon to achieve the needed policy for 
the public roads; for nature has provided the necessary materials, 
and only money and skill is needed to use them properly. 


Cost of Present Haulage on Public Roads. 

The public and the farming communities are still woefully igno¬ 
rant about the enormous annual cost of haulage on bad roads. Ow¬ 
ing to the general bad condition of the roads in the West, during 
one-half, at least, of the year, the average cost of haulage by animal 
power is about 25 cents per ton per mile. For the same cost rail¬ 
roads haul freight 50 miles; steamers on the Great Lakes, 200 
miles; electric car lines, 5 miles. 

Congress in March, 1893, appointed General Roy Stone to gather 
data, and to report thereon, of the cost of building roads and the 
cost of hauling freight over them. 

General 'Stone’s report to Congress shows the average cost of 
haulage per ton per mile as follows: 


In the Eastern States.32 cents. 

“ Northern States.27 “ 

“ Middle Southern States.31 “ 

“ Southern (Cotton) States....25 “ 

“ Prairie States. 22 

“ Pacific Coast States.22 “ 


The average of these is 26.6 cents; average distance, 8 miles. 

The Ohio Road Commission also reported in 1893 that the av¬ 
erage cost of animal haulage on the roads was 25 cents per ton per 
mile. General Stone’s estimate was based on the total tonnage 
moved by animal power on the roads of the United States in 1892, 
which amounted to 500,000,000 tons over an average distance of 8 
miles. This estimate shows that the cost of haulage on the roads 
for one year amounted to $1,000,000,000. 

If the roads had been constructed and maintained on scientific 
principles, as the railroads are, the cost of haulage would not 
average over 12.5 cents per ton per mile, and would save the own¬ 
ers of animal power $500,000,000 a year. In France the average 
cost of animal haulage on good roads is about 10 cents per ton per 
mile. 

This annual excessive loss in wear and tear of wagons and har¬ 
ness, in damage to horses from overstrain, in time through slow 
travel of freight over bad roads during many months of the year, is 
clearly disclosed in the following letter from Mr. Stuyvesant Fish, 
President , of the Illinois Central Railroad, to Governor Lowry, of 
Mississippi. In this he refers to General Stone’s report to Congress 
in 1896. 

“Circular 19, Office of Road Inquiries, bears date April 4, 1896, and the an¬ 
nual cost of hauling farm products and lumber on public roads in the United 
States, therein given as $946,414,665, is based on data for the year ended June 
30, 1895. 

“In that year the gross sum received by all the railroads in the United 
States, for not only hauling all freights, but for also providing in addition the 
railroads, the cars, the engines, and the trainmen, and paying taxes thereon, 











MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


91 


was only $729.993,462; that is to say, it cost the farmers and the lumbermen of 
the. United States alone $216,421,203, or 30 per cent, more, in one year to haul 
their, products on public roads than all the railroads received, for freights of 
all kinds. Moreover, 70 per cent, of the gross receipts of the railroads are 
spent in taxes, labor, and materials, while bad roads return nothing.” 


Cost of Good Roads. 

The general public, who are now clamoring for good roads, have 
little conception of the cost per. mile of proper road construction. 
The. following data affords a fair illustration of this cost in the fol¬ 
lowing countries: 


Great Britain.$4,000 to $6,000, width 20 to 30 feet. 

France ..$6,000 to $7,500, width 25 to 50 feet. 

Italy .$3,000 to $4,000, width 18 to 25 feet. 

New England States...$7,000 to $9,000, width 30 to 60 feet. 

United States... .average, $5,415, 13% feet metalled macadam. 


Great Britain and Ireland contain 228,438 miles of public roads. 
The present annual cost of maintenance of these amounts to $79,- 
453,240, or $348 (nearly) per mile. The average cost of the prin¬ 
cipal main roads, on which there is heavy traffic, is about $1,650 per 
mile. These form about 37,000 miles, or 16 per cent, of the total 
mileage of all roads, the total of which shows about 2y 2 miles to the 
square mile of country. 

In the United States in 1904 there were 2,151,570 miles of public 
roads. The total expenditure on these for that year (1904) 
amounted to $79,771,418, or $37 only per mile. 

Of this gross mileage, 155,662 miles, or 7 1 / 4 per cent, only, were 
improved surface roads. 

The average cost of construction of good roads during recent 
years has been as follows: 


Pacific Cdast States.$7,707 per mile, or 84 cents per square yard. 

Middle West States..$5,123 per mile, or 66 cents per square yard. 

Northern States.$5,750 per mile, or 75 cents per square yard. 

Southern States.$3,082 per mile, or 42 cents per square yard. 


This shows an average first cost of $5,415 per mile of road, and 
about 67 cents per square yard of hard surface, averaging in width 
13J4 feet. 

Ratio of Roads to Area of Country and Population. 

There are 37,000 miles of main roads, or about 16 per cent, of 
the gross mileage, in Great Britain and Ireland. This represents 
about 0.42 miles of main road to the square mile of settled and cul¬ 
tivated land, and about one mile to every 1,100 inhabitants. The 
United States of America has an area of 2,970,038 square miles, 
exclusive of Alaska and Islands. Its 2,151,570 miles of all roads 
represents about 0.78 miles of road to each square mile, and .027 
miles to each unit of population. 

The annual expenditure on all roads in Great Britain and Ireland 
approximated with that of the United States, being nearly $80,000,- 











92 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


000. Taking the population of the former at 42,000,000 and of the 
latter at 80,000,000, this annual cost represents $1.90 per unit of 
the population for the former and $1 for the latter. 

The total annual maintenance of the 37,000 miles of mam roads 
in Great Britain and Ireland is about $6,305,240, or about 8 per 
cent, of the total annual expenditure on all roads. 

New York state, containing an area of 49,000 square miles, has 
provided a bond issue for its public roads amounting to $50,000,000. 
Massachusetts, with an area of about 8,000 square miles, has about 
2,200 miles of main road, which have cost the state nearly $20,000,- 
000. Pennsylvania, containing 45,000 square miles, has appropri¬ 
ated $6,000,000 for the construction and improvement of public 

roads. # .. , 

Indiana, containing 36,000 square miles, has established the lar¬ 
gest mileage of hard surface roads of any state in the Union—about 
25,000 miles. Thirty-five per cent, of the main roads have been con¬ 
structed and improved, from time to time, through the issue of 
bonds at the rate of $2,000,000 per year. 

Michigan, containing an area of 59,000 square miles, pays a bonus 
of $1,000 per mile for the construction of macadamized road. 

Connecticut, containing an area of 5,000 square miles, pays two- 
thirds of the cost of good roads, which varies from $7,000 to $9,000 
per mile. 

Mileage Ratio of Roads to Railroads. 

As the total annual expenditure on public roads in Great Britain 
and Ireland is nearly the same as it is in the United States, so also 
is the mileage ratio of all public roads to railroad mileage the same. 

Railroad Miles. Road Miles. Ratio. 

Great Britain and Ireland. 23,108 228,438 9.88 

United States of America.227,671 2,151,570 9.45 

The amount of capital invested in English railroads is about $6,- 
500,000,000, or $280,000 per mile; that of the United States is about 
$16,500,000,000, or $72,500 per mile. This amount would suffice to 
construct 12 miles of good road, at the rate of $6,000 per mile, to 
every mile of railroad in the country. That is probably what the 
mileage ratio of roads to railroads will be when this Pacific Coast 
becomes as populous as the Atlantic Coast. 

Injustice of Present Financial Road System. 

The long past and still existing system of financing the cost of 
public road construction is of a barbarian and feudal origin, inequi¬ 
table, inadequate, and unbearable in this twentieth century. The 
present road tax on realty in the rural districts of the country, and 
the public duty in road construction and efficient annual mainte¬ 
nance, fall as a grievous burden upon the shoulders of only one of 
the industrial classes of the nation, and that one which alone sup¬ 
plies the food of all. 




MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


93 


It is fast becoming a very serious matter to the farming com¬ 
munities of the largest states in the Union—Texas, California, Ore¬ 
gon, and Washington—who are now being called to satisfy the rap¬ 
idly growing demand for good roads, which shall be kept good and 
serviceable for motor cars throughout the year. 

As the railroad system came to stay, so will the motor car system 
stay with us; and so will the National Postal Service continue to 
expand and use the roads. This national and internationl use of 
the public roads is pregnant with forcible argument for the na¬ 
tionalization of the public roads. 

In 1901, 511,808 miles of the public roads were used by the 
Postal Department. As the railroad system has been extended in 
the West during the past decade, it has reduced somewhat the 
length of the Postal Routes. The average mileage used annually 
during the decade ending 1908 is 481,000 miles. This is nearly one- 
fourth of all the road mileage of the country. 

During the same decade the National Government has paid the 
railroad corporations and stage owners for the transportation of the 
mail $674,363,597, or an average of $67,436,360 a year. Not one 
cent of this expenditure helped to construct or maintain the roads 
used by the stages and carriers of the mails. 

Motor Car Traffic on Roads. 

Nothing has ever before shown so much to the general public the 
importance of good roads throughout the country as has the advent 
of motor vehicles of all kinds. In Great Britain and in the United 
States this advent has created a widespread demand for well-sur¬ 
faced and strongly built roads; for the use of these vehicles has 
increased the wear and tear of the surface, as well as the terrible 
dust nuisance. 

The following table shows the increase in number of these ve¬ 
hicles on some of the main roads in England, between 1904 and 
1907, and the increase in cost of maintenance due to them: 


Year. 

No. of 
Motors. 

Miles of 
Roads. 

Total Cost. 

Rate per Mile. 

1904 . 

51,549 

27,223 

$11,830,815 

$435 

1905 . 

74,058 

27,367 

12,033,770 

440 

1906 . 

86,536 

27,580 

12,392,405 

455 

1907 . 

125.320 

27,556 

12,645,685 

460 


Previous to the use of the roads by motor vehicles, the average 
rate cost per mile was $380; in the year 1907 this rate had been in¬ 
creased $80, or about 21 per cent. 

It is estimated that to improve 4,500 miles of main road in 
England, which are now maintained with flints, gravel, and lime¬ 
stone, with' basalt and granite materials and tar, will cost about 
$5,500 per mile, or a total expenditure of $25,000,000. 

In the United States the number of motor cycles in use is about 
50,000. The number of automobiles is about 200,000. It is esti- 














94 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


mated that over 50,000 of these latter vehicles are being manufac¬ 
tured yearly in the United States. Those produced in 1908 amount¬ 
ed in value to $122,000,000. 

Besides the above numbers of motor vehicles in use on the roads, 
about 5,000 steam and electric vehicles are being yearly produced. 

This vast increase of rapid-moving and heavy traffic on the roads 
calls for national aid in the construction of the roads, as provided 
for in the Constitution, and state aid in the yearly maintenance of 
them. 

It is simply idle and absurd to call upon the farming communi¬ 
ties to meet this new and ever-increasing demand for better roads. 
They have neither the financial ability nor the time and skill re¬ 
quired to do it. 

The food lands of the nation should not be wholly taxed, as they 
now are, for the construction and maintenance of the most impor¬ 
tant vein system of internal communications. 

After a century and more of national lethargy and gross injustice 
to the agricultural community, public opinion in Great Britain has 
sought a new way with this public road question; so that the Chan¬ 
cellor of the Exchequer in his recent Budget has been enabled to 
make a new and most important advance towards the improvement 
and maintenance of all main roads in the kingdom. His proposi¬ 
tion is to tax all motor vehicles and the petrol used in them. This 
tax is estimated to yield in 1909—10 the sum of $3,750,000 from the 
United Kingdom and Ireland. It forms the first national financial 
aid to the public road system.. 

The railway passenger duty, amounting to about $1,750,000 a 
year, should also be devoted to the maintenance of the main roads, 
because this traffic is more or less contributory to the wear and tear 
of the roads. 

This new national road policy in England could be easily adopted 
in the United States, if the mind of the general public were awakened 
to its urgent necessity, and if the agricultural and motor car inter¬ 
ests would combine to move Congress out of its too long endured 
inertia in the matter of public roads. 

The existence of 200,0.00 motor vehicles on the roads at the pres¬ 
ent time, calling for an additional expenditure of several thousand 
dollars per mile in the use of better surface materials, and requiring 
more skill and experience in construction than the present system 
and its authorities can furnish, form a very strong appeal for help 
to the National Government. 

The capital already invested in motor vehicles is now so large— 
probably $250,000,000— that the roads should be made serviceable 
for them, and reduce the cost of their repairs. 

The first transcontinental railroad corporations, with less capital 
invested at the start, were able to obtain a large amount of financial 
help from Congress, in the form of land grants and in guaranteed 
interest on their first bonds, for the construction of the' arterial sys¬ 
tem of state and interstate communication. 

The promoters of good roads throughout the country should not 
be discouraged in their efforts to move the National Government 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


95 


into the new way of viewing the public roads as the vein system of 
internal communication, and in forwarding it under the existing 
power of the Constitution! 

National Ways and Means. 

No civilized country oil earth is better able to afford the cost of 
good roads, and to need them more, than the United States. The 
United States produces 63 per cent, of the world’s production of 
petroleum. Gasoline is one of the refined products. Without the 
use of it, the present motor car system would not be what it is 
to-day. Petroleum in every form is now in use by all classes. 

Statistics for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, show that over 
135,000,000 gallons of crude oil and over 26,000,000 gallons of re¬ 
fined oils were exported, amounting in value to about $104,000,000. 

Why not put a duty on these exports, and therefrom secure a 
yearly revenue for road improvement? 

A royalty on the artificial use of the “unearned increment” of 
natural waterfalls, and a reasonable tax on all artificial water power 
used for industrial purposes, would be a fair proposition for the 
relief of the existing heavy road burden on the cultivators of the 
food lands of the nation; for it should be well borne in mind that 
a very large percentage of the raw products used in the manu¬ 
factories throughout the country come from the farming industry 
of the nation. 

Furthermore, the water used for power purposes is the “un¬ 
earned increment” of the natural rainfall. 

A reasonable duty on all lumber exported is also a fair proposi¬ 
tion for the benefit of the roads, because the natural forest also 
forms one of the national “unearned increments.” 

Raw products from field, forest, and mine are transported over 
the roads, and create their percentage of the annual wear and tear 
thereof, and so should contribute to the cost of maintenance. All 
of these raw products pay freight rates to the railroad arterial sys¬ 
tem of transportation; therefore these should also contribute to 
the public road vein system. 

Economy in Road Width. 

The citizens of the Pacific Coast have been too prodigal with 
their right of way for public roads. The present average is a width 
of 60 feet, which represents an area of 7.27 acres per mile of road. 
In Great Britain and Europe one-half of this width, or 3.64 acres 
per mile, is considered ample for thickly populated rural districts. 

The Pacific Coast states are sure to become densely populated. 
Land that can, in the future, be utilized for the production of food 
should not be wasted. Lands cannot increase in area; but popula¬ 
tion will continue to increase. 

California, Oregon, and Washington form the “Ultima Thule” of 
the western portion of the United States. There can *be no Far¬ 
ther West than their ocean boundary for immigrants to settle on. 

The Secretary of Agriculture in his last report gives the average 


96 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


width of right of way obtained for all roads as 40 feet, or 4.85 acres 
per mile of road. The aggregate acreage valuation of the entire 
road mileage of the country is about 350,000,000. This shows a 
value of $163 per mile of road, or $33.60 per acre of right of way. 

A reduction of 20 feet, or one-third, in width of roadway on this 
coast, at the above valuation, would, in the future demand for cul¬ 
tivated land, effect a saving to the farming community of 2.42 acres, 
of the value of $81.27, on each mile of road. Massachusetts has 4 
miles of main road to the square mile. If in the future, under the 
extension of the irrigation system, California, Oregon, and Wash¬ 
ington become as populous as Massachusetts, they will each re¬ 
quire an approximate mileage of roads. Deducting the area of the 
Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains, it is probable that Cali¬ 
fornia will require 30,000 miles of road, Oregon, 20,000, Washing¬ 
ton, 15,000—making a total for this coast of 65,000 miles. 

By making the right of way to average 40 feet in width, instead 
of 60 feet, there would be a saving in land of about 157,000 acres, 
amounting in value to about $5,275,200. The value of this ‘‘un¬ 
earned increment” w T ould suffice to construct over 1,000 miles of 
road. 

Wealth of the Nation. 

The true wealth of the country is in the industry of the people. 
The inherent wealth, in the natural resources, or unearned incre¬ 
ments, of soil, forest, and mine, is worthless without the toil and 
skill of humanity. 

The Secretary of Agriculture in his last report to Congress esti¬ 
mates the total value of all farm products from the soil at about 
$7,750,000,000. Ten per cent, of this was exported to feed the peo¬ 
ple of foreign countries and to furnish raw materials for their man¬ 
ufacturing industries. 

In 1907 the value of the products of the field exported amounted 
to $1,000,000,000. The estimated weight of the farm and forest 
products moved over the public roads is 25,000,000 tons a year. 

At 25 cents per ton per mile, the haulage of this tonnage over 
the roads cost the farmers and lumbermen $6,250,000 a year. The 
estimated present number of farms in the United States is 6,100,000, 
and their value $28,000,000,000. 

The adult population of this national industry is about 10,500,000, 
or about 13 per cent, of the entire population. 

The estimated annual cost of all roads is about $80,000,000. This 
cost now falls mainly upon the agricultural industry. 

The entire wealth of the United States is estimated to be $116,- 
000,000,000; the value of the annual agricultural products is about 
6% per cent, of the national wealth; the annual cost of the roads 
is about three-fourths of 1 per cent, of the national wealth. 

With the evidence that these national statistics afford, the agri¬ 
cultural community may well ask why it should alone continue to 
bear the financial burden and duty of this national service, the an¬ 
nual cost of which amounts to 1 per cent, of the total annual value 
of the products of its industry. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


97 


History shows that for thousands of years the farming communi¬ 
ties of the world have been the most imposed upon with these na¬ 
tional services. ^ The Hebrew farmer Issachar was described by his 
father, Jacob, “as a strong ass, crouching down between two bur¬ 
dens, who saw that [farm] rest was good, and the land was pleas¬ 
ant, and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under 
tribute.” 

The world has seen how well this patriarchic prediction has been 
fulfilled. Priestcraft enacted the tithe system, levied on the prod¬ 
ucts of the food industry; kingcraft levied ruthlessly upon the 
shoulder labor and products of the farmer. 

The Pyramids of Egypt stand forth as a lasting memorial of the 
enforced labor of the Fellahin farming community; the Great Wall 
of China—1,500 miles in length—was built by the forced labor of 
the tillers of the soil; the numerous splendid Hindoo and Mo¬ 
hammedan temples and temple caves of India are the outcome of 
the forced labor of the Hindoo ryot farmer; the grand roads of the 
Roman Empire were the outcome of the forced rural labor; the 
public roads of Great Britain have been constructed and annually 
maintained by the owners and tenants of the food lands of the na¬ 
tion under the unwritten law of “prescription/’ dating back to the 
time of King Richard I—a period of 800 years—and supplemented 
by Royal Acts of Henry VIII and of William IV; the public roads 
of the United States are the products of the agricultural labor and 
money through old established custom, and neglect of the road pro¬ 
vision in the Constitution. 

Time for a New Way. 

The great railroad arterial system of internal communication, 
with its invested capital of nearly $11,000,000,000, the motor car en¬ 
terprise and industry, with its invested capital of $250,000,000, and 
the agricultural industry, with its invested capital of $28,000,000,- 
000, representing an invested present total capital of $39,250,000,- 
000, or 33% P er cent, of the total wealth of the nation, should now 
combine to secure from the National and State Governments an 
entirely new system of financing, constructing, and maintaining the 
public roads of the nation. 

This paper has only touched upon a matter of the very highest 
importance to the nation, one which ought to occupy the careful 
attention of all thoughtful citizens, because on the equity of the 
mode of raising money for this national service the service itself 
depends, and because the economic use of the money raised de¬ 
mands skill and experience which the existing road administration 
cannot possibly exercise. 

It is the work of the statesmen in Congress and in the state Leg¬ 
islatures to carry out this new national policy in regard to roads to 
a satisfactory and noble end. 

[Signed] R. M. BrEreton, M. Inst. C. E. 

Woodstock, Oregon, July 1, 1909. 


98 


MODERN ROAD BUILDINO 


SOME FEATURES OF MACADAM CONSTRUCTION. 

“Some Features of Macadam Construction” was the subject of 
the address of Mr. A. N. Johnson, of Illinois. He said: 

I hope to go into details of what I may eventually prepare as a 
paper for this Congress. There are two or three points in connec¬ 
tion with macadam construction that I will touch upon, assuming 
that most of you are road builders or immediately connected with 
the work. We have already had touched upon the preparation of 
our road as to matters of drainage; but if you are a road builder, 
and were perhaps following out the advice given, which was good, 
you might think that it is absolutely necessary to underdrain every 
mile of road you would undertake. I have known many miles of 
road underdrained and money wasted because it was not needed. 
It is as good engineering to let go what is unnecessary as to put 
in something as a sort of hazard or guess. Only in accordance with 
judgment based on experience can we do those things, and what 
would at first appear like taking a enhance is taking advantage of 
what experience we have had to let go useless work. It is a simple 
matter in one way, with enough money to go ahead and make al¬ 
most anything that will stand. The point is: Should we put more 
money than is absolutely necessary to make it stand? The differ¬ 
ence between that construction in the one case, putting in an im¬ 
mense amount of material and putting in only what is necessary to 
get a good thing, is the difference between engineering as I regard 
it and mere constructive talent. 

The question of underdraining a piece of road depends upon the 
conditions, and, knowing these, it is not a very difficult matter to 
decide whether underdrainage is necessary or not; and I would ad¬ 
vise, assuming I could have charge of a certain system of roads for 
a long enough period, I would advise leaving out the underdrainage 
where I was in doubt, rather than put in useless underdrainage. 

As a matter of fact, in most of the work that I have had to do as 
city engineer and as engaged in government work, in most of the 
work that Mr. Campbell has had to do in Ontario, and other city 
engineers have had to do, the trouble has been that we were not in 
a position to make any such experiment. We have h> make a piece 
of road that will stand anyway, simply because we are making a 
piece of road. It is an object lesson. Because we have to construct 
that object lesson road, we are sometimes driven to put in a form 
of construction that in our own judgment we are almost sure is 
unnecessary, and would be probably unnecessary, if we could have 
a system of roads directly under our charge for a certain number 
of years, so that oftentimes the work done by city engineers is nec¬ 
essarily expensive, possibly more expensive than it would be, for 
instance, if you were engineer in a county, and had a defined unit 
to work in, and to work out your own salvation fon a given number 
of years; and I would not be so much concerned under those con- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


99 


ditions with the first construction, whether I used the best construc¬ 
tion or not, provided I had long enough to maintain and keep them 
up. vVe select a material, add a little, perhaps, and eventually we 
get the roads. We put in only the material that the demand re¬ 
quites, and eventually we get a system of roads absolutely the 
cheapest, so that it is pretty hard to lay down definite rules or spec¬ 
ifications that can be followed, even in what might look like similar 
physical conditions. 

I find, in the matter of underdrainage, a pretty safe guide in most 
cases, if you want to be sure that underground water is present, 
if the ground shows trembling or shaking, especially a few feet 
beyond where the wagon or the.horse may be, that there is under¬ 
ground water, and you would have to use an underground drain 
to get rid of it. In level roads, the fact that the road is muddy for 
a long time, and the water stands in pools and alongside the road, 
is not necessarily evidence that the underdrainage is defective. It 
simply means in most cases that we have a retentive soil, with im¬ 
perfect surface drainage; that if the surface drainage were prop¬ 
erly divided, flowing to one side and longitudinally along the road, 
there would be no mud. 

So you see it is hard to say that drainage indifferently applied 
is necessarily a good thing. We can have too much of it; that is, 
if we have to pay for it. The point is, and which was intended to 
be conveyed in every instance where it was mentioned, by the 
speakers here that I have heard, the point is that a road to be per¬ 
fect, has got to have drainage, that may be partially provided by 
the natural condition of the soil, where there is no need of under¬ 
drainage because there is no water to be taken away, and when we 
have a road in that condition we will have a foundation provided 
that will hold up the surface. 

In explaining round our Farmers’ Institutes as to the principles 
of making- a road, I have said there was one main principle, which 
was that we shall have a water-tight roof to the road. If you would 
take one of our muddy roads, and lay on it a piece of canvas, you 
would have no mud underneath, provided that it remained tight 
and in shape that the water would flow off, and you did not get 
water coming in underneath, and if that canvas would resist traffic 
you would have a mudless road. Whatever we do, we will eventu¬ 
ally have to put on a water-tight cover. Macadam and gravel be¬ 
comes water-tight, and any successful road surface must be so, or 
else we have a leaky roof, and the water gets into the foundation, 
and it has no bearing power. 

There have been some experiments made on rather a small scale 
to show the bearing power of a compact mass of material, grains 
of sand and pieces of stone forming a macadam or gravel road. 
They have not been conducted far enough to show to what extent 
that bearing power is affected; but it shows that it is a great deai 
more than we have been led to suppose. We have assumed with, 
a road 6 inches thick that it had a certain bearing power, and 8 
inches was increased in proportion; but as a matter of fact these 
experiments seem to show that it increases very much more rapidly, 
M.R.B.—8 


100 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


the rate being possibly the cube of the depth, so that the difference 
between 6 and 8 inches in bearing power is a great deal more than 
the relative thickness would indicate. I hope, if the scheme works 
out, to make some experiments which will in a measure. demon¬ 
strate this in a measurable way to get some more definite informa¬ 
tion on that point. 

In the work I have come in contact with, I have come to the 
conclusion, if an 8-inch road does not hold up under the traffic, the 
trouble is not with the material necessarily, or that the thickness 
that is, adding material—would help matters very much. We have 
got a foundation that is poor. I don’t believe there are very many 
conditions where we are called upon to build a road that needs more 
than 8 inches of well-compacted material. If we need more than 
that, or put in more, it simply means, probably, we are raising our 
wet foundation until we get a sufficient thickness of dry material 
which will support our traffic. 

In picking out the material that is to be used, we know that there 
are different properties possessed by different rocks, and that we 
had explained to us very clearly this morning. The difficulty, 
however, practically arises from the fact that we have in most in¬ 
stances little choice. Our choice is not so much between good 
and bad, and possibly better, materials; but we are practically 
compelled to use what we have on hand, for a 4-mile increase in 
haulage will almost double, or add 50 to 100 per cent, to, the cost 
of our road. The problem seems to me to be, if we have a poor ma¬ 
terial, to use the method in applying that material that will get the 
most out of it. 

Again, we cannot say off-hand what is the best material; in oth¬ 
er words, there is no best material for all conditions, from the fact 
that a road depends for its conditions largely Upon climatic condi¬ 
tions, as to whether it is exposed to wind or rain, on the amount 
and kind of traffic that goes over it, and a material that will give 
you excellent results under one condition, under other conditions 
will prove a failure. One road in particular I have in mind. They 
used the best kind of trap rock, and trap rock we know is extremely 
hard, very tough, and satisfied most of our laboratory conditions; 
but that rock did not satisfy the traffic conditions, for this reason: 
That although it was a very hard and tough rock, and would wear 
a very long time, it wore off but very little. This particular piece 
of road was exposed to wind and to a very small amount of traffic, 
and the result was that the traffic was not sufficient to wear off 
very much of that material. It was not heavy enough to keep it 
pounded down, and what did wear off was blown away. That 
same road, if they had put heavy wagons over it and enough, would 
have been a success. A softer material was used, a limestone that 
in the laboratory would not show as good results; but it was better 
adapted for those conditions, and was a success. It had a better 
binding power and was softer; it wore off a little faster, and re¬ 
mained cemented together; and we had a condition where it proved 
that a good softer material was the better material. So, as I said 
in beginning, we cannot off-hand say any one rock is best. If we 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


101 


have a material that we have got to use, and we know, from the 
laboratory examination of it, it is not suitable for the traffic we 
have to provide for, the question is: Can we use it to better ad¬ 
vantage in one way than another? Now, in the conditions I have 
to meet in Illinois, I have practically one material, and that is 
limestone, but not a great deal of difference. For instance, where 
an extra good material is required, assuming the traffic conditions 
require a hard material that would be graded as 20, this limestone 
would grade 8 and 9; so it is rather a poor material. The problem 
I have to solve is to make the best I can out of poor material, and 
it is a problem many of you have presented to you. We have 
found, and it has been proved time and again, that with a traffic 
on an ordinary country road as we find it, with 100 to 150 vehicles 
a day for every day in the year, it requires a fairly good material; 
but with this softer material we have, if we should put on and build 
the road in the ordinary fashion, with the 1 Winch size for the top 
surface, and then put the 3-inch size in the foundation, we would 
have a road that would get smooth very shortly after it was built. 
It would look pretty well, and then begin to look worse and worse. 
It would grind up, and the l^-inch pieces of the rather soft ma¬ 
terial prove too weak to hold up the traffic, and it generally breaks 
up; whereas, with 3-inch pieces of the material, the road does not 
break so easily, and the wagon wheel does not crush it all to 
pieces, as with the smaller pieces. In other words, the surface of 
the road, when composed of the 3-inch pieces will wear from five 
to six times as long as when composed of pieces about half the 
size. If that is the case, and we have the softer material, use the 
larger pieces on top, and by so doing get about four or five times as 
much out of the material as you would get following the usual 
method of construction of putting the medium size pieces on top. 

There is another feature which you will find of great help and as¬ 
sistance in rolling roads and getting them compact. Many of you 
have noticed, in using some materials, that the more you roll it the 
more trouble you seem to have. The stone would get a wavy mo¬ 
tion and it seems almost impossible to get the stone to come to¬ 
gether. One thing that will do it quicker than anything else is to 
thoroughly harrow the stone before you attempt to roll it, and 
you will be surprised to see how quickly that material will come 
together and how compact it will become, and the explanation is 
simple. You take a layer of different sized material, and crushed 
stone has different sizes in the single layer, from the smallest piece 
that has gone through the screen up to the largest that can get 
through, so that a layer of crushed stone is not of the same sized 
pieces. If we harrow that material, and stir it up, the largest sizes 
will come to the top. You know that, and the grocer knows it 
when he displays his apples and fruits. All he has to do is to shake 
the basket. When you want to get the even sizes of the stone on 
top, shake it up, and you can do that with a good strong harrow; 
not’a farmer’s harrow, but you would have to have one with good 
strong teeth, the frame weighing perhaps 400 or 500 pounds. Have 
a man ride it, and a team can draw it easily. That stone is shaken 


102 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


up, and the largest sized pieces come to the top, and it all shakes 
down, and you will find that there is no other position in which 
you can put that material and have it denser or more compact, 
for, after you have once broken up the stone, you cannot get it 
back the way it was. You can never get it back, and if you at¬ 
tempt to let a road go without raking it over you have the large 
pieces of stone, and then the small pieces, and then larger pieces, 
and then a space, and you want to drop the smaller pieces, so that 
the two larger pieces can come together, and you do that when you 
harrow the road, and the smaller pieces will get down, and if 
anything disturbs the road the smaller pieces will never come to 
the top. You have a more stable road than when you put on your 
roller and you find the material will wave and creep. We all know 
that even sized pieces in the surface of roads get better results, and 
the harrowing brings the pieces of the same size to the top, and 
so we get what Macadam laid down—that pieces should be as uni¬ 
form in size as possible. . 

The quality of the road material that we have investigated in 
this country, and which was mentioned this morning, and its bind¬ 
ing power, I think a word could be said about that. In the first 
place, the tests on road material were devised and used primarily 
by the French engineers, and in 1878 they brought out a test that 
was designed to show the relative value of the materials to wear, 
and that test was very successfully developed, and we are using it 
to-day. But one thing they did not attempt to measure or test. 
They appreciated the fact that stone had a binding quality, but ap¬ 
parently they did not undertake to develop any way of testing that, 
and that has been a test brought out by engineers in this country, 
and I think it is as important a quality of a rock for road purposes 
as its hardness or toughness, because, as I said, in some conditions, 
where you have light traffic, to get a road to bind together is as 
necessary as to have it hard, and no matter how hard the material, 
if it has not binding power, you will have a failure. So the cement¬ 
ing value is a most important quality of road material. 

You have undertaken in this state work that I think you will not 
regret, and which I think other states will follow, and that is the 
employment of convicts in preparing the road material. In Illinois 
we have had some experience in that, and I think perhaps a word 
as to the success of that plan as we find it there may be of some 
interest. We have two state prisons in Illinois, unfortunately, 
and we have erected a crusher plant at each place. It happens 
where the prisons are situated there is limestone rock in consid¬ 
erable abundance. These quarries have now been operated for 
about three years. The stone is distributed by the requisitions of 
the State Highway Commission, and we give it to the township, 
which is the local community carrying on the road work, free of 
any cost except that of transportation. They must pay the freight. 
They must also use this material in accordance with the directions 
that" we give. We do not give the same directions in every in¬ 
stance, for the simple reason that in some places they have never 
done anything, and if they get the material on the road and make a 


Modern road building 


103 


reasonable showing, that is a great advance in that community. In 
other communities they use some local stone, and the thing is to 
have them use it and get better results than ever before. In other 
cases we make an experimental road, and furnish machinery and 
men to take charge of the work. This has proved a very success¬ 
ful plan, and there in Illinois I do not know how we would have 
got on without the assistance of this material in making the roads 
we have been able to make so far. We went after the railroads, and 
got from them fairly good rates. The law permitted the Highway 
Commission to make a special arrangement for freight rates with 
the railroads, and I undertook to see the various railroad managers, 
presidents, or whoever I could see of the forty roads that are in 
the state, and I found that they lent a very willing ear to the prop¬ 
osition, and gave a very considerable reduction from the ordinary 
rates, and we have in effect a half cent rate throughout the entire 
state. 

There are in Illinois some very extensive stone industries, and 
there was some opposition at first from them; but as they consid¬ 
ered the matter a little more closely their opposition died down. 
There is opposition in Illinois to the useful employment of pris¬ 
oners on the part of the labor people, from the fact that they claim 
that whatever they make which is put in the open market against 
free labor is an injustice to free labor. 

In this employment of convicts in crushing stone, it does not 
interfere in most sections of the country with the existing indus¬ 
tries. Take it in Washington or Illinois, the material that is go¬ 
ing to be produced and is produced by these convicts goes to 
places where they did not buy any before, and therefore could not 
interfere with any existing industry. We cannot interfere with 
free labor, because we are interfering with no industry; but it 
makes more work for free labor on the roads. The way it works 
out in Illinois, it simply affects the prisoners in the prison. There 
is no increase to the taxpayers, because the prisoners had to be 
fed and clothed and housed, so that whatever they produced in the 
way of crushed stone was not produced at practically any increased 
cost to the taxpayers. I do not see how it is possible to work out 
a more equitable plan of co-operation on the part of the state than 
to put the convicts to work in the stockades and quarries, and it 
is more humane for the convicts, because it keeps them outside, 
and our experience has been that those men working outside are in 
far better condition mentally and physically, and discipline is main¬ 
tained much more readily and easily, than where men are kept 
confined inside and in more or less unhealthy and unsanitary con¬ 
ditions. 

I will add a word as to the use of convict labor. We made use 
of them in a bridge test we are carrying on now. We have a great 
many streams in Illinois crossed by roads, a great many bridges, 
and our bridge expenditure has been more than our road expendi¬ 
ture, so the question of bridges is a very important one, and we 
have taken it up rather expensively. We built the South Illinois 
Penitentiary, and have a concrete bridge with an 18-foot roadway 


104 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


girder type; the floor hung up into the girders. The convicts 
built the bridge. That experiment was done with the ordinary 
labor conditions outside, and, where it would have cost us from 
$6,000 to $7,000, the cost of the experiment to the state, using con¬ 
vict labor, I do not think will be over $800. I don’t think there is 
any better use that can be made of convict labor than the carrying 
on of some of these investigations that without this system seems 
to make the price prohibitive. I believe this experiment is per¬ 
haps one of the first instances of the employment of convict labor 
in scientific investigations. 

DISCUSSION. 

Mr. M. O. Eldredge: There are a good many sections in Oregon 
and Washington where they have trap rock and other forms of 
igneous rock, tough and hard. Did your remarks apply only in the 
cases of the softer rock? 

Mr. Johnson: Yes; the ordinary traffic conditions as you find 
them on the country roads. If you have a very hard, igneous rock, 
do not attempt to put the 2J4 or 3 inch stone on top; but, when you 
put in a layer of rock, harrow it. It will save rolling. Then put 
your next layer of rock, which may be 1^-inch. Harrow that, so 
as to save the road. If you attempt to use that material for a city 
street, then I have seen trap rock of the very hardest kind used in 
the 3-inch size, where there is enough traffic to hold it down. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: I come from a limestone country, and we 
used to have good roads in Southern Indiana. I am very much 
interested in this discussion concerning limestone, and this diffi¬ 
culty which you had with the small stone, and I was wondering 
whether that was not the same difficulty that first came out here in 
this country when the crusher was used—that in crushing the stone 
there was an excess of fine material. If you had left a lot of the 
fine stuff at the quarry, and not tried to use everything that came 
out of the crusher, would you not have had a better road for less 
money than trying to cart all the material on the road? 

Mr. Johnson: I would say in this connection that in the large 
crushers we find that the proportion of dust made is not much in 
excess of what is absolutely required for binding purposes. It 
depends a little upon what layer of material happens to be in. We 
have here a few of our reports, which give in some detail the use of 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


105 


convict labor and describe the work there. If any of you want 
them, I shall be glad to let you have them. 

Mr. Lancaster: There is one point that does not seem to have 
been brought out very clearly, and which I think may be worth 
mentioning, and that is the soil conditions in Illinois. The soil is 
a very black, sticky character in most eases, and I think Mr. John¬ 
son will agree with me that, where the smaller material was used, 
it was inclined to get out of the road. When the wagon came on 
the road, and went over the black mud, it was inclined to kick out 
badly, and the use of large stones was in order to prevent the 
material kicking out so badly. 

Mr. Johnson : In roads that are used for automobile traffic, some¬ 
times, where you find a little nest or nests, and oftentimes, one will 
slap on some screenage, go away, and it looks fine; and again, often¬ 
times, the way the stones will come from the crusher once in a 
while, the small pieces seem to get together, and if it is not care¬ 
fully harrowed the automobile traffic will always detect those places 
where there is a nest of small material. So if you can harrow your 
stone, and get it more evenly distributed, it will wear very much 
more satisfactorily, and won't tear up near as much with the large 
pieces of stone as with the smaller pieces. With any severe amount 
of traffic, you cannot maintain a macadam road anyway, and have 
to put something with it. 

Mr. Lancaster: Have you used oil or coal tar? 

Mr. Johnson: Yes; last year we used some oil and coal tar on 
two or three miles. I do not know if it is going to prove the best 
that could be used. The chemists are not altogether decided as to 
what we ought to use, and after we have gotten material I don't 
know if the engineers have made up their minds as to the method 
we should use—whether we should mix the material beforehand 
and lay it in the road, or whether the road should be laid and the 
material put in, or whether we should use another method and force 
the material in putting the tar into a tank with air pressure and 
squirting it into the road. If there is any considerable traffic, we 
will have to do something with it. It is no use talking about mac¬ 
adam roads and maintaining them, if we are going to have much 
motor traffic over them. 


106 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


Mr. Morrison: I can see how the larger pieces of rock on the 
surface of the road would give greater wear; but in my experience, 
wherever the larger sizes of No. 1 have come to the surface as soon 
as the binder commences to go, that is the weak portion of the road. 
The uneven shape of the larger portions of the rock, giving more 
lever arm, is more likely to loosen than where the stone is smaller: 
and also, in the taking away of the binder by the automobile, that 
sooner gives unevenness to the road, and in my experience and 
judgment that is the first part of the road to go. 

Mr. Johnson: You are talking more of individual stones, I think; 
but it would be different where you have a patch of say fifteen or 
twenty feet. Of course, it is soft limestone I am talking about, and 
we would not use it if we could get anything better, and,under 
those conditions I would always suggest putting the larger pieces 
on top. 

Mr. Morrison: Would the wear on the soft material be enough 
to furnish new binder? 

Mr. Johnson: I would say, in reply to this, you will find, if you 
harrow the material, that if you get a piece of stone lying say on 
end it will tip round and work to the top, and after it gets to' the top 
it will knock out; but if you harrow you will find it has a tendency 
to edge up and give a larger surface, then you come with your roller 
and down it goes, and you have the most compact conditions you 
can get. The road is firmer when it is thus keyed together; but if 
you separate them, and put a lot of binder all round them, as soon 
as the binder goes the road goes, and for that reason the road 
should be firmly made before the binder goes on it. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: I would like to call attention to the pro¬ 
gram for to-morrow. It will be a great day, and a day to justify 
the presence of a thousand people from King county alone. b We 
ought to have an address from Prof. Clifford Richardson, of New 
York, who is the recognized standard authority regarding all mat¬ 
ters relating to asphalt. He is going to be with us to-morrow, to 
give us a short talk on Asphalt Macadam Roadways. He is going 
to tell us what he believes, and as a rule after eight or ten years’ 
discussion we have found out that he was right in the beginning. 
He is recognized as the standard authority in the world. We have 
with us Mr. E. Purnell Hooley, of Nottingham, England, who is the 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


107 


inventor of the use of tar in connection with road surfaces in Eng¬ 
land, being the patentee of the tarmac process. When Mr. Hill took 
us to Paris to attend the International Road Congress, he also took 
us into England, and I spent two weeks there going over the roads 
part of the time with Mr. Lancaster and Mr. Hill, and we visited 
these roads in the vicinity of Nottingham. We went all through 
what was the old Sherwood Forest, where Robin Hood held forth, 
and we found there roads of remarkable beauty and remarkable 
strength, built by Mr. Hooley. He has consented to come all the 
way from Central England to Seattle, and to tell us how he built 
those roads. He will be with us to-morrow, and if you have any 
friend or neighbor who is interested in road building we have in 
Mr. Richardson and Mr. Hooley men who will interest them. If 
they want to know anything about the modern methods of using 
a binder which is slightly plastic, these are the men who stand on 
top and are the world’s authorities in those matters. 

We are also to have Mr. Harold Parker of Massachusetts. Mr. 
Parker was taken over some of the roads in England, and has pur¬ 
chased a machine to work the roads as nearly as possible after the 
same manner as that in which Mr. Hooley makes his roads. Mr. 
G. W. Kummer will speak on Vitrified Brick. Mr. Lancaster, who, 
as you know, is- an artist in road construction, and has gone al¬ 
most all over the world, is going to give us a paper on Boulevards. 
This convention is a wonderful school, and everything that has been 
said here to-day, though it may seem dry to men who* are not inter¬ 
ested in the movement, is more than interesting to those who have the 
movement at heart. The men who are interested in this movement 
must be possessed of great patience, and they must also have the nec¬ 
essary grit, which I think you all have. 


108 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


WEDNESDAY, July 7th, 9 a.m. 

Mr. Samuel Hill: I have much pleasure in introducing to you 
Mr. John C. Lawrence, who will preside over your deliberations this 
morning. He is a member of the Railway Commission of the State 
of Washington, a farmer, a banker, and last, but not least, a Good 
Roads enthusiast. Nobody has done more for the highways of this 
state, both in season and out of season. I am introducing to you a 

man who combines in one, railway man, farmer, banker, and Good 
Roads expert. 

Mr. Lawrence: I am very thankful to the biggest Good Roads 
man in the state of Washington for having given me the honor of 
presiding this morning. It is certainly an honor to be present on 
an occasion of this kind, an event that will live long in the history 
of the Good Roads work in this state. I think we cannot blame any 
resident of the state of Washington for being enthusiastic in 
the matter of good roads under the leadership of Samuel Hill. 
(Applause.) 

Mr. Lawrence, then introduced Mr. George W. Rummer, of Seat¬ 
tle, who read an interesting paper on the subject of 


VITRIFIED BRICK, ITS CONSTITUTION AND 
MANUFACTURE. 

“Vitrified Brick, Its Constitution and Manufacture,” is a subject 
broad in its scope and carries with it in its technical and mechanical 
application many features, governed, in part at least, by condi¬ 
tions present in different localities. 

The primary element of a vitrified brick is a suitable clay, a 
mineralized clay, a clay that has annealing qualities. To lay down 
an inflexible rule as to what this clay should be, as by a chemical 
analysis, or to be specific in the matter of manufacture, as relates 
to the entire field of the brick industry, would be but idle words. 
There are no two veins of clay that are alike in their elemental 
structure, and therefore a corresponding latitude must be given in 
the discussion of this question, and which, from the nature thereof, 
must be treated in a somewhat general way, or else I would feel 
that I was overstepping the bounds of propriety, and the very ar¬ 
gument used might prove disastrous if generally applied. To meet 
the conditions of the subject-matter, the clay must make a brick 
that—as our good engineer tells us—is free from lime, free from 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


109 


laminations, spalls, checks, and cracks, that is homogeneous and 
impervious to moisture, and that is vitrified. It must not lose more 
than a certain percentage in a so-called standard rattler, it must 
not absorb over a given percentage of water in a specified number 
of hours, and its specific gravity is fixed. Here we have defined, 
arbitrary laws quite universally adopted. 

I must take the position, perhaps boldly, that it is impossible 
at all places to successfully manufacture perfect vitrified brick 
within the limits of defined specifications that are universal in 
their application; and I furthermore assert that high-grade vitri¬ 
fied bricks are liable to fall below their entitled standard in value, 
because of what I am obliged to call inconsistent extremes in the 
matter of absorption on the one hand and the rattler test as the 
other extremity. I repeat that all clays vary, not alone in widely 
separated districts or portions of our land, but in the same locality 
as well, and therefore it is a physical impossibility, without re¬ 
striction to territory, to produce uniform brick that will show 
their best results under one defined system of testing, wherein the 
limits are set with no regard to the physical conditions of the ma¬ 
terial. 

I repeat that, in the first place, a suitable clay, a mineralized clay, 
if you please, is required from which to make a vitrified, or what I 
prefer to call an annealed, brick. Secondly, the proper grinding 
of the clay and the perfect formation of the brick in the green state 
are absolutely essential. A vitrified brick of suitable clay, proper¬ 
ly made and finished, is in itself an iron-stone substance. By chem¬ 
ical action and changes during the various processes of manufac¬ 
ture, the constituent elements of the clay have been converted into 
new forms, and the finished brick is a homogeneous mass, free 
from lime as an active element; is annealed, every clay particle 
being bonded; in short, such a brick is an igneous rock, dense in 
its structure, practically impervious, resisting abrasion, and yet 
retaining grittiness in its structure, and in contact has an attractive 
force for steel and iron, and is enduring to the end of time as 
against the deteriorating agencies of the elements. 

It is a well-known fact that shrinkages of varying degrees occur 
in clays. To make the highest quality of vitrified brick, uniform 
shrinkages must be had. It should be a clay that by the lapse of 
ages and under earth pressure has been purified by chemical pro¬ 
cesses in nature’s wondrous laboratory. Such clays are found in 
rock or shale form. It may be possible to make vitrified brick from 
a single clay, guaranteeing absolute uniformity of structure, or it 
may be possible to blend clay and a silicate to insure density and 
overcome porosity. Analyses of clays are common, yet I hold that 
the only true test, the only safe trial, of a clay, is the manufacture 
of a sufficient quantity of brick for a burning in a regular kiln, in 
the regular way, and tried out by the only infallible chemist knowq, 
that mighty agency, fire. Though analyses are very similar of 
clays from different parts of the country, yet they cannot be ac¬ 
cepted as a safe guide as universally applied. The relative quantity 


110 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


of silica, alumina, iron, lime, magnesia, etc., may be set down as 
practically from the same clay, yet the active elements are not the 
'same, and a perfect product is impractical. It is a well-known prin¬ 
ciple that, during the burning of clay in high heats, the silica and 
alumina form a silicate of alumina, which becomes the basis of the 
ware being made, and here comes the diverging point as between 
a fire brick and a vitrified brick, and, literally considered, I want 
to take issue with statements I have seen to the effect that fire 
clay vitrified brick are made. If a clay will make a fire brick, it 
cannot make a vitrified brick, and the difference in the chemical 
action or bonding of the clay particles is an illustration of what a 
vitrified brick really is. In a fire clay, the percentage of silica and 
alumina must be in such proportions that the iron and all other 
deleterious matters combined cannot successfully attach and dis¬ 
turb or unite with the basic matter; or, on the other hand, for a 
fire brick, when the silica and alumina are held in bond, there 
cannot be an excessive amount of silica, else it becomes a free 
agent, and, uniting with the other fluxes, becomes a destroying 
agent, and the basic matter is dissolved. If this destroying ele¬ 
ment is not present in a fire brick, then such brick, though thor¬ 
oughly bonded, is porous; in short, has lungs, through the medium 
of which such brick has respiration, meeting the demands of con¬ 
traction and expansion, but under impact or abrasion lacks physical 
strength. If this condition, as above set forth, is present in a so- 
called clay, perfect vitrification or annealing cannot take place. I 
have seen shale clays, highly refractory, that, when the point of 
fusion was reached, the entire mass of clay became honeycombed, 
and when drawn from the kiln such brick floated on the surface of 
the water like cork; whereas, brick made from clay from another 
part of the country, yet in chemical analyses much like the former, 
when brought to the same degree of heat, melted and made lique¬ 
fied clay, or, if you please, vitrified molasses. 

To make a good vitrified brick, I claim that the basic matter 
must be a silicate of alumina, and the action from this point of 
amalgamation must be the reverse to that of making a fire brick. 
There must be a sufficient percentage of the basic matter to give a 
heat range, guaranteeing against fluxing when during the burning 
the crisis is reached of initial vitrification and melting. Yet a suit¬ 
able clay for the manufacture of vitrified brick, whether a single 
product or a blend, must contain sufficient quantities of flux, of 
iron, etc., so that the necessarily inherent quality of refractoriness 
is overcome, and a perfect amalgamation of clay particles takes 
place, giving the brick uniform structure, making it homogeneous 
and impervious. Personally, I cannot lay too much stress upon 
the absolute necessity of a uniform clay in the point of shrinkage, 
for in bricks made of clays that have different shrinkages the clay 
particles cannot be uniformly or cohesively bonded. Nor can 
brick made from such a mixture be burned perfectly, for clays of 
varying shrinkages must be measured according to the degrees of 
heat that they will endure before fluxing, and can only be carried 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


111 


m the heat range to the degree which the weakest portion of the 
clay mass will endure. Otherwise they will be structurally weak. 
In outward appearance they may be high-grade, and they may 
even do themselves credit in the rattler test, as now so universally 
applied. They may even be tough, and particularly so when dry 
from a kiln. Again, brick made from such mixed clays are more 
subject to laminations, owing to the unequal state of plasticity, 
and when in service, and after exposure to dampness and the ac¬ 
tion of the elements, and the constant impact of travel, the weak 
spots manifest themselves,, and the brick spall and shell off by 
reason of imperfections which cannot exist where a perfect bond¬ 
ing of clay particles is present throughout the entire brick, as is 
the case when a single clay or a blend of uniform shrinkage is 
used. 

Having a suitable clay, the preparation thereof for brick making 
in the first step—i. e., the grinding—is an important one. Usually 
the shale or rock is reduced to small pieces by being run through 
a rock crusher, or, as in some cases, it is fed directly into what in 
the trade are known as dry pans, where it is ground into degrees 
of fineness as the manufacturer may direct; b'ut I do not deem it 
important in this paper to go into detail in the mechanical opera¬ 
tion of brick making, only as to some special features as these 
points are reached in this discussion. The grinding of clay, how¬ 
ever, I hold to be very important. If there is uniform fineness in 
the clay particles, the degree of fineness being governed by the 
character of the clay used, a uniform bond will result; but if the 
clay is not uniformly fine, or is not uniform in quality, there will 
be voids, and perfect amalgamation of particles will not take place. 
Nor is it possible to produce as strong a body, or as perfect a brick, 
from a coarse ground clay as from a clay that has been reduced 
to flour form. The ground clay next goes to the tempering mills 
in a dry state. In these mills water is ground into the clay to 
bring it to a degree of plasticity so that the brick can be formed, 
and that they will have sufficient strength of adhesion of clay par¬ 
ticles, so that they can be handled safely and will bear sufficient 
weight to permit piling on cars to be carried into tunnels, where 
the water that has been ground into the clay is again driven off. 

From the point of the dry clay in powdered form to the dried 
brick, the product has passed through very important stages that 
have much to do with the quality of the finished brick. In the 
tempering of the clay, during which the water is ground into the 
clay mass, the subject of uniformity of action again plays an im¬ 
portant part. While primarily this process is for the purpose as 
above set forth, yet another very important factor in the brick 
structure here manifests itself; for it is during the time the brick 
is being formed and dried that the first or initial bonding of the in¬ 
finitesimal particles takes place, and it is a self-evident fact that 
if the clay mass is not uniformly moistened, or not sufficiently 
moistened, there cannot be a perfect and uniform bond, an essen¬ 
tial to perfect brick. No more can nor will clay particles form per- 


112 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


feet cohesion when not uniformly tempered or properly moistened, 
nor if of widely varying degrees of fineness, than will a cement of 
similar degrees of irregularity in fineness set perfectly. It is during 
this stage of drying, when the mechanical water is being driven off, 
that the first shrinkage of the brick takes place; the degree of 
shrinkage from the original size being governed by the character of 
the clay used, and therefore beyond the power of any set rule that 
can be laid down to control. Before following the brick to the next 
stage beyond the point of drying, I want to go back in the process 
of manufacture to the clay in its tempered state and now being 
put into brick form. This, as is well known, is almost without ex¬ 
ception through what is known as a stiff mud brick machine pro¬ 
cess. The tempered clay is fed into a steel case, of varying diam¬ 
eters, according to the capacity of the machine, and through the 
center of which case or cylinder is a revolving shaft, to which are 
attached knives or blades, by the movements of which the clay is 
forced into and through dies from which columns of clay issue in 
continuous lengths, and which columns are, by mechanical device, 
cut into brick size and shape. There are two styles of dies in use 
in forming these clay columns in the manufacture of the so-called 
standard size brick, which are approximately 2 y 2 ” x 4" x.8 y 2 ". In 
one instance the column issues and is cut crosswise every 2j4 
inches, this making what is known as “side-cut brick.” In the oth¬ 
er case, two columns of clay issue from the die, the columns being 
cut every Sy 2 inches, this making what is known as “end-cut brick.” 
It is during this process of forming the clay columns that lamina¬ 
tions in brick, if they exist, have their inception, and it is in this 
mechanical construction that I maintain that special care should be* 
taken in the form or shape of the knives or blades, and particularly 
in the construction of the die in point of lines of issue guiding the 
clay. I maintain that every clay has its own peculiar characteris¬ 
tic, and that dies constructed on the same pattern are not fit for 
general use. The degrees of plasticity or refractoriness of the 
clay must be thoroughly understood before the lines of a suitable 
die or issue can be safely drawn. Again, it is not a safe plan to 
indiscriminately use a lubricated die, for some clays make a better 
brick when a dry die is used. In a lubricated die, the issue of the 
clay column is absolutely free in all points of contact with the 
metal, giving no side resistance in the issue; whereas, there are 
high-grade clays that demand this retarding influence to give the 
best internal structure to the brick. This same principle carries 
back into the brick machine, and should be the determining factor 
as between side-cut and end-cut brick; for I maintain, as has been 
proven by actual experience, that all laminations can be avoided in 
vitrified brick by a study of the clay, and the construction of me¬ 
chanical appliances that are suited to the clay, as against the far too 
common practice of trying to make a clay suit the machine, just be¬ 
cause it makes brick successfully somewhere else and the machine 
man told you so. Furthermore, while I know I am treading on 
disputed and possibly dangerous ground, yet I want to assert as 
my belief that a better standard size brick can be made, with prop- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


113 


erly constructed die, in end-cut form than if made side-cut, even if 
the side-cut is re-pressed and the end-cut is taken directly from 
the machine. I take this position because in the side-cut article the 
clay issues approximately 4 inches thick by 8J4 inches wide in a sin¬ 
gle column, which is cut at right angles through the breadth of the 
column; whereas, the end-cut brick columns, two to the issue, di¬ 
vided in the die by a steel center, issue 2^4 inches wide and 4 inches 
thick each, and are cut through the narrow column, the clay for¬ 
mation in the brick running with the column, whereas in the side- 
cut form the clay formation is cut at right angles and severed for 
each brick thickness. Furthermore, it is a far simpler thing to con¬ 
struct a die that will control and thereby guard against twists and 
laminations in slender clay columns than to overcome the same 
condition in a greater mass of clay in one issue. After the brick 
has been formed, it is common practice and often required to re¬ 
press the product. Outside of shaping up the edges, or of forming 
lugs on the brick, or of stamping the name of the maker upon the 
product, the re-pressing has no value, and it is an open question, 
at least in the case of some clays, whether it is not an injury, caused 
by the sudden blow of the re-press and the almost instant release of 
the pressure that is put upon the brick. Referring again to the 
brick during the drying, the same inflexible law of conditions and 
quality of clay in respective districts controlling, the one general 
principle that is most important is the time required and the time 
allowed for perfect evaporation of the mechanical moisture. No 
limit can be set for this as a universal rule to be observed. But 
the essential feature of this process is that the drying shall not 
be unduly forced; for it is during this season that the clay particles 
are cohering, and if this process of knitting is forced a perfect bond 
cannot result. A brick that is to be carried to a state of vitrification 
must have all the elements of perfection at the stage of coming 
from the dry kilns. It must have had the advantages of perfect 
and free circulation of air in the kilns, with increasing degrees of 
heat from the green state to the dried product, which is accom¬ 
plished in modern brick driers by mechanical devices that operate 
most successfully to thermometer tests; the heat for this purpose 
now almost universally being drawn from kilns that have been 
finished and where the firing has ceased. 

From the drier, through which the brick have gone on steel cars, 
the driers being in tunnel form, the brick are taken into a cooling 
room, where they remain until they can be handled by men, when 
they are set in kilns ready for the final treatment by that element, 
fire, which is one of the greatest destroying agencies, and yet makes 
from a true clay one of a very few things in existence that is not 
destroyed by the action of the elements, namely, vitrified brick. 
There are kilns of many styles, yet the true principle of a kiln is 
that it shall have a free draft. There are many ramifications 111 
flues through which the heat is drawn; the principle being to so 
hold the heat and to so distribute it as to equalize it throughout the 
mass of brick that are being burned within one chamber. The im¬ 
portant feature of this construction is that the flue space shall be 


114 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


adequate to the area of the chamber in which the fire shall be con¬ 
trolled. The brick are set or piled in height according to what the 
clay will endure, and the manner of setting is again controlled by 
the nature of the clay forming the brick. Again do I hold that each 
separate clay must be understood before suitable kilns in all their 
details can be built for its successful burning, which in its essential 
feature is the draft area and the application thereof. During the 
burning of the brick, the mechanical water not eliminated in the 
driers is now driven off, and this, in turn, is followed by the elimi¬ 
nation of the water held in bond in the chemical composition of 
the clay in its original state; and here is where the final shrinkage 
of the brick in the interlacing and knitting of the clay particles 
takes place, and it is here where clays of excessive shrinkage, or 
where mixed clays of uneven shrinkage, or where impure clays 
come to grief, or leave their damaging effects within the finished 
product. It is here, also, that the stability of the clay is tested in 
the matter of initial vitrification and melting. It is imperative that 
a clay have a fair range of heat in this respect; for, if this margin 
is limited to a narrow basis, it is almost impossible to bring about 
uniform or satisfactory results in the final firing. By ingenious and 
thoroughly practical devices now in use in modern brick plants, the 
elimination of the water by absorption, and the water in bond, is 
noted during the progress of burning. The degree of heat in all 
important portions of the kiln is also recorded constantly, from the 
light firing as an initial burning to the point of vitrification, and the 
measure of shrinkage that the brick is undergoing during the firing 
is carefully noted; these combined observations being a safe guide 
to the operator in charge. The word of caution that may here be 
spoken, with the ever-present varying conditions of clays and what 
they will endure, is: Do not force the firing beyond what the clay 
being burned will stand with safety; for, if you do, the opened kiln 
will not defend your action. 

We now come to the final act in the manufacture of vitrified 
brick; i. e., the cooling of the semi-molten mass. Here to be safe, 
to get the best product, the manufacturer must set aside the desire 
for gain, must turn a deaf ear to the clamor of contractor, engineer, 
or layman, who may be crowding him, and let nature take her 
course; for, as it is imperative during the burning to let the heat 
soak into and through the brick naturally, and not under forced 
draft, so must this heat be permitted again to pass away. It is now 
that the work of making structure is taking place, and the mass 
is being annealed and toughened; and if this is checked in the 
slightest degree by too sudden cooling a weakened and imperfect, 
or a brittle, product will be the result, but if permitted to work out 
under natural laws, with every condition present for the good, a 
product will come forth, g,s comes in many places and in ever-in¬ 
creasing numbers, that is not excelled—no, not even in the mighty 
workshops of nature. 

“How may a man tell a good vitrified brick when he sees it?” is a 
question that was asked me in connection with this subject-matter, and 
I am pleased to answer in this way: 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


115 


. Establish what is the average size of a satisfactorily burned 
vitrified brick, made from any given clay; for all uniformly made 
brick, of uniform clay, uniformly burned, must be practically of 
uniform size when finished. 

Test by absorption. 

Establish a machine or device that shall hold the brick in place 
as they are in service, and test by impact and abrasion as under 
traffic. 

Then put a hammer into the hands of a practical inspector, who 
holds his situation by reason of his knowledge of the thing you 
want him to pass judgment upon, and let this hammer, by test of 
sound and by the fracture of the brick, determine the quality, as 
can very easily be done when once the grade of any defined ma¬ 
terial is established; and this quality lies entirely in the brick struc¬ 
ture, and is not governed or may not be determined by simple 
shades of color, for it must be remembered that any clay that will 
vitrify cannot be burned to an absolute shade in color, unless the 
degrees of heat are practically identical throughout the entire kiln 
area, which has never been possible, as measured from top to bot¬ 
tom of the kiln, even in the burning of-the highest grades of face 
brick, where uniformity of color or shade is much desired. I said 
above: “Test by absorption.” But this must have its limitations, 
for vitrified brick will vary in the percentages of absorption from 
nil to various quantitative proportions, according to the degrees 
of heat to which they have been subjected in their relative position 
in the kiln during the burning, which is but a natural result of the 
absolutely essential element in clay of heat range between the point 
of initial vitrification and fluxing. The matter of absorption, the 
limitation to which it may be extended, here becomes an open book, 
and can readily be determined as a safe guide in tests and to guard 
against overburned brick. The hammer in the hands of a compe¬ 
tent man is ever sufficient. 

Finally, gentlemen, we have in a vitrified brick, as I have en¬ 
deavored to describe, a material that in structure and enduring 
qualities is not surpassed by any known material; for it is not af¬ 
fected by heat or cold, is not amenable to the deteriorating in¬ 
fluences of the elements, and is as lasting as is the lava that was 
emitted from the crater’s mouth and has endured for centuries, and 
which has given us our first lesson in vitrification at the hands of 
the Great Creator, and, furthermore, have we our lesson from Him 
in the matter of the necessity of using a clay that has by nature 
been refined, for 

The Lord in His wisdom showed us the way, 

For He made Adam from virgin clay, 

But when He beheld the Figure Nude, 

He said, “ ‘Tis well, but still quite crude.” 

So from this mold of earthy clay, 

Now freed from dross on this Hallowed day, 

He took a rib, no longer mud, 

But now infused with mineral blood, 

And lo! behold what this pure clay did make; 

‘Tis said one, and only one, for each man to take. 

M.R.B.—9 


116 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


Mr. Samuel Hill: I make a motion that the Congress do now 
adjourn and walk out and see this brick put in place on our piece 
of experimental road. You will all be interested I am sure to see 
this vitrified brick. 

On the return of the delegates to the Good Roads building, Mr. 
F. N. Godfrey, of New York, read a letter from Mr. James H. Mac¬ 
Donald, Chairman of the Highway Committee of the State of Con¬ 
necticut and President of the Road Makers’ Association of that 
State. 

Mr. Godfrey said: I have here a letter from my personal friend 
Mr. MacDonald, which perhaps it was not intended that I should 
read; but I feel it is almost too good to keep, showing his sym¬ 
pathy with the work of this Congress. 

Mr. MacDonald’s Drttlr. 


Mr. F. N. Godfrey, 

c/o Samuel Hill, 

Seattle, Wash. 

My Dear Mr. Godfrey: 

It is with sincere regret that I shake hands with you across the 
continent, when I expected to stand with you and enjoy the 
pleasant occasion together; but the Legislature, which is still in 
session and is liable to be for some time to come, has delayed action on 
my good roads matters to the extent that it is impossible for me to 
leave the ship at this time. 

The entire future of the good roads movement depends on my 
staying very close to the laws I have presented for consideration 
by the committee until they have reached a safe harbor. I do not 
think I will grow less in your estimation by taking this course. 
My first duty is to the work of my department, for the reason that 
future generations’ comfort, happiness, convenience, and prosperity 
depend very largely on the good roads law being adopted along 
those lines that will make for progress and be permanent in their 
character. So many years of hard work—fourteen years in July— 
demand that at this critical time I should not absent myself one 
moment from careful oversight of these bills, so that they will come 
from the committee and go through the Senate and the House as 
I have recommended. 

As much as I regret my inability to unload the duties of my of¬ 
fice for three weeks, I cannot, in justice to the future of this move¬ 
ment, absent myself and neglect my state work for my own per¬ 
sonal pleasure. 

My heart lies very close to Mr. Samuel Hill in his splendid work 
for the reclamation of the roads on the Pacific Coast, and I would 
go a great many thousand miles to hold up his banner—yes, even 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


117 


to carry one of its tassels—to assist him in the laudable purposes 
he is engaged in. 

I have written him a letter, without going quite so much into 
detail as with you, simply relating the facts and relying on the 
strong bond of friendship that has existed between him and me. I 
hope you will not feel disappointed at my absenting myself from 
this convention and being present with you personally in its delib¬ 
erations. 

I trust you and I may meet on some similar occasion. I have 
in mind holding a convention on the part of our association later 
in the season, at which time I hope to have you speak, as a little 
softening of the blow at not being able to be with you on the Pa¬ 
cific Coast. It is a hard matter, Brother Godfrey, to tie myself 
down here just at this time, when I want to be with you; but my 
official work is such that I cannot leave it. 

I am writing you this letter, so that it may reach you at the time 
you are holding the convention, and thus know that the State High¬ 
way Commissioner of Connecticut is present in the spirit, although 
absent in the body. 

Very sincerely your friend, James H. MacDonald. 


Mr. Lawrence: There were a number of questions asked of Mr. 
R. H. Thomson concerning the laying of the vitrified brick, and at 
the suggestion of Mr. Lancaster he is requested to repeat his state¬ 
ments at this time, so that they may appear in the record for the 
benefit of those who hereafter may have the pleasure of reading the 
proceedings of this Congress. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: I was asked a great many questions, while 
we were down looking at the sample roadways, about methods of 
construction and cost of construction. I presume that each one of 
you will recognize that neither the same method of construction can 
be used in every place nor will the same cost of construction pre¬ 
vail, because of differences in the hours of labor and the cost of 
labor and material. 

We use four different classes of paving in Seattle. The first is 
stone block pavement, which is of two kinds, granite and sandstone. 
We have some granite block pavement laid where there is very 
heavy traffic in the neighborhood of the freight yards. It gives 
only a fair foothold, and has a tendency to become quite noisy, and 
because of the extreme noise we do not consider it adapted to any 
street on which there is any considerable trading being carried on, 
especially retail trading. That pavement, however, costs us about 
fifty cents a square foot for the finished roadway, taking into con- 


118 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


sideration the cost of excavation and the cost of the curbs alongside 
of the street. It is often a good thing to know about what the cost 
of the finished roadway will be, taking into consideration every¬ 
thing, and not taking what you would call “pot luck. When going 
into the construction of a piece of granite block pavement in the 
streets in Seattle, we include the removing of the subgrade and the 
relaying and the laying down of drain tile; for we consider that 
without a solid foundation the paving is worthless. We drain out, 
and put in gravel, and take the drainage into catch-basins. Includ¬ 
ing a six-inch concrete base, sand cushion, cut stone topping, and 
granite curbs, and all incidentals, the average cost of a square foot of 
granite pavement is fifty cents. 

On steep hills, to give a better foothold to the horses, so that the 
horse’s shoe will have a grip, we are using sandstone. We do not 
expect it to last very long, but it is a question of absolute economy. 
We figure with pencil and pad as to which is cheaper—to allow the 
teams to only haul 3,000 pounds as a load for a team on asphalt or 
brick, or to put on a rough, gritty surface, and allow them to haul 
5,000 or 6,000 pounds. When you can practically double the load 
by putting in the pavement which will give the better foothold, it 
is more economical to the citizen to put sandstone than granite, 
brick, or asphalt, because there is the better foothold, and the teams 
can carry greater loads. We would not recommend this for trot¬ 
ting traffic, because it is this trotting traffic that destroys pavement 
of any kind. Walking traffic does not destroy practically any pave¬ 
ment. Take a heavy horse, and as he walks he shuffles; but when 
you get a trotting horse, and he begins to go over the street, and 
lifts his foot, and comes down, and cuts it, and digs into the pave¬ 
ment, if it is sandstone, he hollows it out and destroys it, and trot¬ 
ting traffic is the traffic which is so destructive. Walking traffic 
will do very little destruction to any good pavement. 

The second class, vitrified brick, is what you saw on the roadway. 
This piece of roadway we hope will be part of a general boulevard 
to be carried through the University ground around the shore of 
the Lake, and we hope to put in samples of every class of pavement 
that we are laying for the study of the Good Roads and Engineer¬ 
ing Department of the State University, so that we can make an 
actual, unprejudiced, and scientific study of the cash value of all the 
different sorts of pavements. That is why you see the brick, wood 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


119 


block, and asphalt, and if Mr. Hooley has brought samples, and if 
Prof. Richardson has brought a big enough box of asphalt macadam 
we will lay it. We want to get samples of a reasonable length of 
every class of pavement we can put in. 

We are laying this brick with a six-inch concrete foundation, and 
on that, unless it is laid on gravel, or a porous soil, we place gravel, 
and put in drain tile, and carry this over two hundred and fifty or 
three hundred feet, so that the subsoil may be absolutely dry. We 
put on the six-inch concrete foundation after the subsoil has been 
rolled with a fourteen-ton roller, and we roll it down until the roller 
has absolutely got tired. Then we put a sand cushion, about one 
and a half inches of good clean sand, and then the brick are laid, as 
you saw them there; and as a rule we put a one-inch plank over 
the section, and put on the fourteen-ton roller, and roll the street, 
pressing the brick into the sand under the plank, and when we get 
through we have an almost uniform surface, and the sand has been 
pressed down from one and a half inches until it is only about three- 
quarters or one inch, and the crevices we fill in different ways on 
different streets, according to the desire or fad of the abutting own¬ 
ers. Personally I believe that hot sand filler is as effective as any¬ 
thing that can be used. We take the fine, sharp sand, and heat it 
very hot, and then spread it on the pavement, and sweep it into the 
crevices, and it runs. You have heard how hot molasses will run; 
hot sand will run just as well. It binds the brick together, so that 
to lift the brick out we have been compelled to take a hammer and 
break the brick to make an opening, and have had to use a hammer 
and cold chisel to get in. It becomes so dense that it is impervious 
to water, because we wash every night with a hose, or rather we did 
for years, streets with the sand filler only. We put the hose on a 
hydrant with eighty pounds pressure and the sand filler remained. 
That applies particularly to Second Avenue from Pike Street to 
Yesler Way. This we laid in 1896, and there is one half block of 
street in front of Frederick & Nelson’s store on the west side of the 
street which has had no disturbance from that time to this. You 
can see this half block which has been undisturbed for years, and 
that will give you the best idea of a vitrified brick pavement with 
sand filler. Taking that kind of pavement, which costs us, includ¬ 
ing all incidentals, such as catch-basins, six-inch concrete base, and 
all the other paraphernalia, forty cents per square foot, our con- 


120 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


tract price has been $2.45 or $2.65 per yard; but, when you add all 
the other things that go with it, excavation, drain, catch-basin, 
curbs, etc., it runs up to forty cents per square foot. 

We will now take our asphalt pavement, principally in the resi¬ 
dential districts. There it is our purpose to give roadways twenty- 
five feet wide, nicely crowned, about four or four and a half inches 
in twenty-five feet, with concrete curbs, and four to four and a half 
concrete base with subdrains—because we subdrain the asphalt the 
same as anything else—and one to one and a half'inches of binder 
gravel coated with liquid asphalt laid on top of the base, and 
between that and the one and a half inch wearing surface; and the 
wearing surface, the average cost, taking everything into considera¬ 
tion, has been thirty-two cents per square foot. Recently we have 
been getting some contracts as low as $1.60 to $1.75 per square yard, 
which gives the appearance of a much less price; but to this price 
there must be added the cost of the earth excavation, the subdrains, 
catch-basins and curbs, and I have no doubt every one wants to 
know what this costs for the finished street. That was taking an 
average price running over twelve or fourteen years. The granite 
and sandstone costs us practically fifty cents for the finished street, 
everything made and laid; the vitrified brick, forty cents; and the 
asphalt between thirty-two and thirty-three cents—being in each 
case for the finished street. If you take these figures and bear them 
in mind, you will not be deceived by hearing the cheap figures as to 
cost per square yard and claiming that it costs more than it should. 
It costs about thirty-two cents per square foot for the best asphalt. 

As to the wearing qualities of asphalt, the first street was con¬ 
structed seven years ago on Ninth Avenue from Madison Street 
south. That street to-day for nearly half a mile looks as well as if 
it had only been laid two or three weeks ago. It was laid of the 
best tested Alcatraz asphalt from California. There are two streets 
in the city laid of asphalt which never were successful. The asphalt 
burnt before it was laid down, and they are still being repaired. 
They are the north part of First Avenue and a considerable portion 
of Broadway. 

On Capitol Hill we have one of the streets of the city which has 
not yet been accepted. The majority of the streets of Capitol Hill 
have been laid about five years. They are between 25 and 32 feet in 
width between curbs, and have cost an average of thirty-two cents 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


121 


per square foot complete, laid on a concrete base, with subdrainage, 
and with the exception of Broadway, which, as I say, we are still 
working on after four or five years, some of the asphalt having been 
injured in the original refining, and there not having been quite 
enough asphalt put into the mixture, with that exception, friends of 
mine have offered a dollar for any crack that could be found in the 
whole territory, and no one has yet earned the dollar. 

We have been remarkably successful with our asphalt pavement, 
largely through the co-operation of one of the gentlemen who is 
going to present a paper here to-day, Prof. Clifford Richardson. 

Mr. Campbell: Do I understand that the pavement is all laid by 
contract under city inspection? 

Mr. Thomson: We inspect everything, and the asphalt is tested 
continually in our laboratory under standard specification. 

Judge Hanford: Is there not a part of Capitol Hill where the 
asphalt was laid by private owner ? 

Mr. Thomson: There is a portion of the district known as Cap¬ 
itol Hill where what appears to be asphalt pavement was laid down 
by a landowner prior to the sale of his plat. Permission was given 
for the landowner to make his own improvements; but he bought 
what is known as bituminous rock, which is sand into which has fil¬ 
tered asphalt. This was brought here from California, and is fre¬ 
quently mistaken for the real asphalt pavement. There is a good deal 
of complaint about the bad appearance of this bituminous rock pave¬ 
ment in the Capitol Hill district. I know them so well, and always pass 
round the corner, so as not to see them, and for that reason I never 
think of them as being part of the city’s work. They show the dan¬ 
ger of allowing a private landowner the privilege of pretending to im¬ 
prove his property before he sells it. He charges about twice the price 
it would have cost for the city to have done the work by reason of the 
pretended improvement, and as a rule the citizens who purchase get 
about a quarter of the actual value. These supposed improvements are 
a positive injury as a rule, and disgrace the profession of road making. 

Mr. Campbell: Do you lay the asphalt up to and between the 
rails of the street railway? 

Mr. Thomson: We lay none of the pavement further than one 
and a half feet of the outer rail of the railway. We put it up to the 


122 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


street railway company to lay that one and a half feet, and to lay 
between the tracks, and to maintain it. As a rule they use headers, 
toothing out from the rail on the outside, and they fill in from our 
pavement to within and between those headers, mostly brick. At 
the present time they lay two or three rows of brick parallel with 
the rail, and they are thus able to lift them and tighten the joints 
without destroying the asphalt pavement, and to drop the brick in 
position, using the hot asphalt or whatever they may use. 

Mr. Campbell: Do you allow them to use their own material? 

Mr. Thomson: The franchise says they shall use the same mate¬ 
rial ; but it is not always possible to put the same material up 
against the rail that you put in the middle of the street. For 
instance, in some of the cable roads, we have been compelled to 
permit them to use a thin granite block, and to crowd that in be¬ 
tween the rails, because, unless we destroyed the entire track, their 
construction would not permit the use of our material. In passing 
over the steel rail, if the asphalt were immediately adjacent, the ten¬ 
dency would be to plow it out by passing from the harder to the 
softer texture, and we permit them to put these headers of brick 
right along the rail, and frequently to pave within the track with 
brick entirely, because it gives practically the same foothold. 

An Inquirer: Can you recollect what material is at the junction 
of Broadway and Madison? 

Mr. Thomson: That is a part of the asphalt that was put in some 
five or six years ago, of which we have been complaining. It is not 
a bituminous rock, but it is an artificial asphalt. I think the worst¬ 
looking intersection on the whole street is Columbia and Broadway; 
but the whole street is defective from one end to the other. The 
asphalt had been burned. It is the residuum of the distillation of 
crude petroleum, and there is very considerable free carbon in the 
mass, which tends to its destruction. We have laid brick gutter 
and asphalt gutter, and I am not quite sure whether the asphalt 
gutter is as good as the brick. 

An Inquirer: Do you continue the asphalt to the curb? 

Mr. Thomson: Yes; we are practically coming to that, as I be¬ 
lieve it makes a more symmetrical and an equally valuable street 
as when we put the cut stone along the curb. We originally fol- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


123 


lowed the English practice of laying cut stone or brick along the 
curb. 

Mr. Campbell: We find the sheet asphalt cracks, splits, and 
opens out. I do not notice that here. Can you account for it? 

Mr. Richardson: I am very familiar with Toronto, and I will 
explain this when Mr. Thomson is through. 

Mr. Campbell: I would like to ask what woods you have been 
experimenting with in your wood block pavement 

Mr. Thomson: Cedar and Douglas fir. We have found wood 
block paving in our climate has been unsatisfactory in two respects: 
First, it was creosoted sufficiently to be quite antiseptic, and was very 
slippery on our grades, so that the horses could not stand, unless the 
street was kept sprinkled with grits; and I find that true of every 
road of wood block that I have investigated anywhere in the world. 
I spent some time in London and in Westminster, where they use a 
wood, which is not very dififerent from our Douglas fir, and it costs 
them $1,000 a year simply to place in boxes alongside the street the 
quantity of grits necessary for the street men to have in their hands 
to spread upon the street surface to prevent the horses slipping. It 
costs them this amount for every mile of road. Then again the 
wood block varies so in texture that they will make ruts and depres¬ 
sions, and then again the wood pavement becomes very offensive 
under heavy loads. It is necessary to wash and sweep the wood 
pavement, and the upper portion of the block holds the water, and 
when a heavy team goes over it that water sprays out of the side, 
and the dirty spray will dirt everything alongside. You cannot pre¬ 
vent it in the nature of things, so in our climate, with our moisture, 
and with our hills, we have not favored the wood block pavement. 
We make no objections to its use by those whom it suits. We know 
that in European countries, for instance, in the city of Paris, they do 
not expect a wood block pavement to last more than three and a 
half years; but they say they can afford to put it in because of the 
quiet which it affords to the shopkeepers on the side of the street. A 
shopkeeper told me in Paris that they once had stone pavement, and you 
could not hear yourself think, let alone speak, and it was impossible 
to carry on any trade. If a lady wanted to buy some laces, for 
example, the shop girl who was was showing her the things on the 
counter would have to make a megaphone by putting her hands to 


124 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


her mouth and crying out to her the price, and if she started to make 
a special rate, just as she was calling out, “I will make you such 
and such a rate,” there would be a difference in the noise in the 
room, occasioned by the fact that some wagon or vehicle had 
stopped, and all through the room it would come like a trumpet 
blast the special rate that she was making. To get that quiet and to 
avoid annoyance they put in a wood block pavement, and they say 
that it pays in quiet and increased rentals. They can take it away 
every three and a half years, but they have to sprinkle it with grit 
or sand every morning. 

Mr. Campbell: Under the conditions you describe, you think 
wooden pavements might be satisfactory? 

Mr. Thomson: It is certainly very dirty. I do not know of any 
more offensive place than some of the streets in London where 
wood block paving is used, nor a harder place for horses to travel 
than where hardwood is used. It would have to be covered with 
grits all the time, and is very expensive. 

Mr. Campbell: Do you use these subdrains on the top of these 
ridges, where you have no higher ground around? Is it necessary 
to use subdrains in those cases? 

Mr. Thomson: Where there is no higher ground, we do not use 
a subdrain; but there are very few places in Seattle where there is 
not higher ground. On some of the level streets of Capitol Hill, we 
have found it necessary to lay subdrains, even though the ground 
appeared to be very little higher. There are some of the streets on 
the hillside where we have not laid them, because there is some 
eight or ten feet of open gravel underneath the roadway, in which it 
is never possible to find water ; but, wherever we encounter clay 
or hardpan and the least bit of higher ground, we put in gravel, and 
tile drain, and carry it off into catch-basins. When this was first 
done, a great many people laughed at me, and said it was ridiculous 
to think that water would pass under granite curbs and get under 
the roadway, and I appointed one of my assistants, Mr. Scott, to 
go out during heavy storms, and immediately after, and take off the 
covers of the catch-basins in places where there was supposed, to be 
no water whatever, and to see if any water was coming into the 
catch-basins, and in nearly every case a considerable stream of wa¬ 
ter was coming through the drain tiles. Only in a few cases out 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


125 


of a hundred did he find that there was no water coming through 
the dram tiles, so my belief in the necessity of tiling was fully sub¬ 
stantiated by the result. 

Mr. Campbell: Have you noticed any difficulty with the buck¬ 
ling of the wood blocks? 

Mr. Thomson: Our wood block never buckled, for the reason 
that, before we laid the blocks, we put a piece of plank, a little 
more than an inch in thickness at the bottom and about one and 
three-quarter inches at the top, against the curb on both sides, and 
we laid the blocks against the plank. As soon as the blocks were 
laid, the plank was removed, and that crevice was filled with clay- 
When the block expands, that clay is simply raised alongside the 
curb, taking up the expansion; otherwise, our blocks would have 
buckled. 

An Inquirer: In Regina we fill the spaces with tar, leaving one 
inch space, and that squeezed out, and this year they took up nearly 
the whole pavement, and left two inches space, and that is raised 

up. 

Mr. Thomson: What kind of wood did you use? 

A British Columbia fir. I am not in charge of it; but I have no¬ 
ticed it. That is all. 

Mr. Richardson : It depends largely on the amount of saturation 
in the block. In New York we have no expansion; but we only 
put in sixteen pounds, because that gives an opportunity for some 
expansion. If you put in only eight pounds to the cubic foot, you 
have to have still larger expansion. 

Mr. Thomson: It is a good plan to soak the blocks. I think we 
have had our last block pavement. We have no complaint against 
them where it is a necessity for retail shops, and where people are 
willing to pay any price for quiet. Those who desire them are 
welcome to them all over the world, and we have plenty of wood 
yet to sell, and the more they want the higher will be the price on 
the timber, so I don’t want to say too much against block paving. 

Mr. Richardson: What do they cost? 

Mr. Thomson: A little more than brick. If brick costs forty 
cents per square foot, wood block will cost about forty-two and a 
half cents. 


126 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


Mr. Richardson: Is not the question of paving in Seattle a 
simpler matter than in Chicago or Detroit, where the variation of 
temperature is so much more? 

Mr. Thomson: I think it is; but, as it relates to asphalt, we are 
passing all these matters up to Prof. Richardson. He comes here 
charged with the responsibility of defending asphalt, and says he 
will be good-natured, whatever happens. It is much more difficult 
to maintain pavements of any kind in a climate of great extremes, 
and I think that Chicago and Toronto and Winnipeg have consid¬ 
erable extremes in temperature. 

Mr. Richardson: I have found Omaha and St. Paul to be very 
difficult cities. 

Mr. Thomson: Omaha is, because of the clayey character of the 
ground. The frost in Omaha clay seems to go as far down as a 
man can dig, and the frost seems to want to go straight down, and 
the clay wants to come right up. I cannot say I know as much 
about St. Paul. In conclusion, I would say that as a filler I prefer 
hot sand to any other filler known. When Mr. Little was Super¬ 
intendent of Streets, and wanted to keep Second Avenue clean, he 
got nozzles and put hose on the hydrants on Second Avenue, where 
there was eighty pounds pressure, and he went out and washed 
the street with a hose, and people thought the street would be 
ruined. I quarreled with him very much; but that took place 
eleven years ago, and the street looks pretty nearly as good to¬ 
day as it did then. If I had my way, I would use the sand filler ex¬ 
clusively. 

Prof. Clifford Richardson, before reading his paper on Asphalt 
Macadam Roadw r ays, made a few remarks along the line of the 
previous discussion. He said: 

It is a great pleasure to me to meet you all here to-day. I had 
not intended to introduce the subject of sheet asphalt pavement in 
my remarks; but, since our visit to the plat in the grounds, and 
the discussion of the matter of pavements by Mr. Thomson, and 
the questions asked, it may be worth while to take the subject up 
to a certain extent. 

Modern sheet asphalt pavement is the development of more than 
thirty years’ experience. It was first laid in a rule of thumb 
way on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, from the Capitol to 
the Treasury, and was so successful that the Commissioners in 
charge of the paving in the city of Washington rejected all other 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


127 


methods, and it has been used there -very satisfactorily ever since. 
Up to 1896 the construction was, however, purely one of rule of 
thumb. A certain amount of sand and ground limestone and as¬ 
phalt was mixed together in a haphazard way and laid upon the 
foundation, whether of broken stone, or concrete, or whatever it 
might be, old pavements, or old granite sets; but I entered upon 
the study of the thing as early as 1887, and by 1896, owing to the 
experience which I had had in laying pavements in London, Eng¬ 
land, and one or two other Continental cities, I found that that 
rule of thumb method would not meet the trying conditions found 
in Continental cities. The pavements I laid in Washington and in 
the Ivingsway in London in 1894 began to come up at one end be¬ 
fore they were finished at the other, owing to the weather and 
traffic. During the course of the next two or three years we had 
an opportunity of continuing our experiments and working out 
a rational system of construction of sheet asphalt. That showed us 
the most important thing in sheet asphalt is not the asphalt, but 
the sand; and it is not alone the sand, but the character of the 
sand, the relation of the sizes of the different grains to each other. 
Each sand has a different capacity for carrying asphalt. In the 
early pavements we had very little filler, as we could not find a 
sand to meet the moist conditions in London or the heavy traffic, 
and we had to add an impalpable powder; the most desirable being 
Portland cement. Then we had to study carefully how much as¬ 
phalt and cement material this combined sand and filler would 
carry. 

Mr. Campbell has alleged the fact that the pavements of Toronto 
cracked badly, and that is the case in a large number of instances, 
and that is due to the fact that the sand in Toronto has grains of 
a peculiar surface. Toronto’s sand will carry but eight and a hah: 
per cent, of bitumen. I have had mixtures sent from there this 
year which show that that is the dangerous thing. Sand in Seattle 
will carry from twelve to thirteen per cent, of bitumen, so you 
see what a local question it is to know how to handle the sands 
that are available. A week or two ago I wrote to the superin¬ 
tendent of the company in Toronto that he must find a sand that 
will carry more bitumen, and he has done so, until it now carries 
nine and a half per cent, of bitumen; but he cannot get the amount 
that you have in Seattle. 

One reason why the pavement is so satisfactory in Seattle is the 
sand. It is a perfect sand for constructing an asphalt pavement, 
and will carry sufficient bitumen without being soft; bitumen be¬ 
ing present in excess to give an elastic surface of a lasting prop¬ 
erty. Another reason why your pavements are so satisfactory is 
entirely due to Mr. Thomson. He puts a foundation under them 
which sustains them. We speak of asphalt pavement and the 
weight it will carry. It is not the asphalt, it is the foundation, that 
is the pavement. The asphalt is merely the wearing surface; and, 
if it is not properly supported, the best asphalt is of no value what¬ 
ever. 


128 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


In New York we have some most disgraceful asphalt pavements. 
It is a city of enormous area, the, amount for paving is small, and 
they are obliged to spread it over a vast area. The principal rea¬ 
son of this is that they do not put in proper foundations, but lay the 
asphalt over the old pavements of the city, with the result that it 
is not properly supported. 

Mr. Thomson and a number of gentlemen have remarked that 
there was pavement laid here in 1904 which has not been entirely 
successful. This had been down but a few months when I received 
a telegram saying we were in difficulties and to come here. My last 
visit here was for the purpose of studying the difficulties encount¬ 
ered at that time and arranging matters that would be satisfactory 
in the future. The difficulty was we assumed that Seattle sand should 
be used the same as the sand is used in the Eastern States with 
10% P er cent, of bitumen. I found that the material which we were 
using for a filler was simply round particles of sand, which were of 
no advantage as a filler, and made the mixture unstable; and I had 
to modify it by adding to every nine cubic feet of the mixture 100 
pounds of ground filler, and then we found we could run the asphalt 
cement up to a point where our mixture contained from 12% to 15 
per cent, of asphalt. That was determined by me in 1904, and is 
being successfully laid here at the present time. 

I will here say that there are no general conclusions which can 
be applied to the construction of asphalt pavement in every town. 
We must discover the local conditions and meet them. There are 
very many general conclusions which can be drawn from the be¬ 
havior of sheet asphalt pavement, which it seems can be well ap¬ 
plied to the country highway. 

Prof. Richardson then read his paper on “Asphalt Macadam 
Roadways/’ which is printed below: 


ASPHALT MACADAM ROADWAYS. 

By Clifford Richardson, M. Am. Soc. C. E. 

It is somewhat surprising, to one who has been a close observer 
of the development of the modern sheet asphalt pavement in the 
United States during the last forty years, that so little application 
has been made of the experience gained in that industry to the 
problem of the construction of bituminous macadam highways 
which shall meet the conditions which exist to-day. 

There should not be any essential difference in principle in the 
construction of a sheet asphalt pavement and a bituminous mac¬ 
adam roadway. Both consist of a mineral aggregate cemented to¬ 
gether with a bituminous binding material; the aggregate in one 
case being fine, and in the other containing coarse, particles. Ex¬ 
perience has shown that, in either type of surface, the mineral ag¬ 
gregate being of a suitable character, the capacity of the resulting 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


129 


surface to resist travel will depend on the more or less satisfactory 
nature of the cementing material. 

In the early days attempts were made to construct pavements 
in Washington and elsewhere with both fine and coarse aggregates, 
using coal tar as a cementing material. All these attempts with 
both fine and coarse aggregates were failures to a greater or less 
extent, and its use was abandoned on the advent of the form of 
asphaltic construction developed by De Smedt, although it was re¬ 
vived for a few years in the late ’80’s in mixture with asphalt with 
equally disastrous results. The surfaces having a coarse aggregate 
were somewhat more lasting than those made with sand, and a 
small portion remained in place until the end of the century. They 
were known as “Evans pavements/’ and were resurfaced with 
.asphalt after a few years. One of these, protected by an asphalt 
surface, was found, on repaving Connecticut Avenue, in Washing¬ 
ton, in 1906. A piece of it was collected by the writer and exam¬ 
ined. A section is shown in the accompanying illustration. From 
this it appears that a coal tar bituminous macadam was constructed 
as long ago as 1873, and proved, in a short period of time, not to 
be a lasting form of construction. Notwithstanding this fact, ex¬ 
periment after experiment has been conducted along the same lines 
in recent years with similar results. Few, if any, highway engi¬ 
neers seem to have benefited by the experince of their predecessors, 
and most of them still have the coal tar lesson to learn on their 
own part, although it is evident that this form of construction can¬ 
not give satisfactory results for more than a few years. 

On the other hand, referring again to the lessons of the paving 
industry, the modern sheet asphalt pavement, where constructed 
on rational lines on a rigid, well-drained foundation, has proved a 
complete success, as exemplified by the fact that a pavement of 
this type has satisfactorily resisted the heavy travel which is found 
on Fifth Avenue, in New York City—14,000 vehicles in the period 
between '6 a. m. and 7 p. m.—for a period of twelve years. In the 
same way an asphalt concrete surface constructed with a well- 
graded, but coarse, mineral aggregate in 1902 in Muskegon, Mich., 
which has been used as a favorite drive since that time, has been 
in use with no repairs whatever, where many similar surfaces in 
which coal tar has been the cementing material have deteriorated 
or required resurfacing under similar circumstances during the 
same period. The Muskegon work has not only demonstrated the 
superiority of asphalt as a cementing material, but‘this has been 
confirmed by other surfaces of the same form of construction m 
Owosso, Mich., in Paterson, N. J., Scranton, Pa., Staten Island, N. 
Y., and elsewhere. 

The evident conclusion which may be drawn from past and pres¬ 
ent experience is that success can be arrived at in the construction 
of any form of bituminous road surface only by the use of asphalt 
as a cementing material. The thing to be considered however, is: 
How can asphalt be used in building the cheaper forms of country 
highways, which are now in demand to resist motor and concern 


130 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


trated traffic, where the aggregate is merely of the grading of the 
ordinary stone which is employed in surfacing macadam roads ? 
The asphalt surface constructed in Muskegon in 1902, and else¬ 
where, was an asphaltic concrete. The mineral aggregate was well 
graded and in itself compact. This could only be combined with 
the cementing material in a hot condition, which required a plant 
to which the aggregate was hauled and from which it was again 
hauled to the point where it was put in place. The operation was, 
therefore, an expensive one, and makes the cost of this form of 
construction prohibitive for country roads. Recourse must there¬ 
fore be had to some other method of combining a mineral aggregate 
and asphalt immediately on the spot where the surface is to be 
constructed. 

For many years tar macadam has been laid in England, France, 
and, to a smaller extent, in this country in Rhode Island, New 
Jersey, and elsewhere. This form of roadway is arrived at by 
coating the No. 2 or surface stone of the macadam with coal tar 
in one way or another, either before or after rolling it, and after¬ 
wards filling the voids in the surface with more tar and grit, 
screenings or sand. Such a surface is desirable when first finished; 
but it soon begins to deteriorate and ravel, especially when ex¬ 
posed to horse-drawn travel, with the weathering and aging of 
the cementing material. From past experience, it is not difficult 
to arrive at the conclusion that, if an asphalt cement were sub¬ 
stituted for the coal tar, a result would be attained which would 
correspond to the improvement which was evident on the sub¬ 
stitution of asphalt for tar in street pavements. The difficulty lies 
in the fact that an asphalt cement is much more viscous than tar. 
It must be used in a much better condition, and does not mix with 
or adhere so readily to cold stone. Experiments have shown, how¬ 
ever, that this can be accomplished by using a much softer as¬ 
phalt than is customary in street asphalt pavements, or even in 
surfaces of the type of the Muskegon pavement. To-day we find 
ourselves, after some experiment, in the position of being able to 
coat stone, of the type used in macadam surfaces, with an asphalt 
cement which serves satisfactorily as a binder for such an aggre¬ 
gate, on a metal mixing board with hand labor and shovels, at the 
point on the road where the material is to be put in place, and with 
very reasonable economy. It produces a surface which, while not 
of the stability or having the wearing properties of the Muskegon 
type, is as far superior to the ordinary tar macadam as the sheet 
asphalt pavement is superior to one of the tar poultices of thirty- 
five years ago. 

The base of the cementing material must, however, be an asphalt 
of the best quality, such as is used in the construction of sheet 
asphalt pavements; in fact, it must be an asphalt paving cement 
such as is called for under the strictest municipal specifications, but 
merely made softer by the use of a larger percentage of flux. 
Dense oils and residuums to which no solid native bitumen has 
been added will not accomplish the same results to any greater or 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


131 


more satisfactory degree than they would if used in a street pave¬ 
ment. Further, the character of the flux in asphalt cements for 
use in macadam must be more carefully taken into consideration 
than that for use in street pavements, as the amount is so much 
larger, in consequence of which it has a greater bearing on the 
character of the cement. 

On the Pacific Slope, the opportunity for the construction of 
roadways of the highest type, which has been described, is facili¬ 
tated by. the fact that vast quantities of residual pitch and flux, 
most of it of suitable quality, is available as a cementing material 
or binder, so that all that is necessary is a certain amount of skill 
and experience in handling it, to attain the best results. In fact, 
there is no part of the world which is so favorably situated for 
solving the road problem as the state of Washington, where stone 
of the highest grade is available for the mineral aggregate, and a 
cheap and abundant supply of cementing material from the neigh¬ 
boring state of California. The state is to be congratulated on the 
opportunities which it has in these directions, upon the energy 
with which the road problem is being attacked, and upon the pros¬ 
pects of success which lie before it. 

Types of asphalt macadam roads such as have been described 
in this paper are given in the accompanying illustrations. 


DISCUSSION. 

Question: Is asphalt principally used in New York as the most 
popular pavement? 

Mr. Richardson: There is more asphalt paving than any other 
type of improved street. 

M. O. Eldredge: A few days ago a gentleman told me that the 
poor pavements in Washington had been covered with asphalt, and 
that was one reason why they had lasted for so many years. I 
telegraphed to Washington, to the Chief Engineer of our office, 
and asked him: (1) Have the sixteen pavements of which we have 
samples been covered with asphalt? (2) Have they been in con¬ 
tinuous service? And he telegraphed back that part of the pave¬ 
ments had never been covered with asphalt and had been in con¬ 
tinuous service. I would like to ask you what you know about 
this. 

Mr. Richardson: As I was connected with the Engineers’ De¬ 
partment of the District of Columbia for a number of years, I have 
some acquaintance with this matter. I have examined the speci- 
which you have here. One is labeled “From Highland Ter- 
M.R.B.—10 


mens 


132 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


race,” which is not a public highway, and has very little traffic. 
A portion of the original tar composition still stands there; but 
it was very badly cracked and has received' a large amount of 
repair. The same applies to most of the other samples you have 
there. They are merely remnants of old pavements, and the sam¬ 
ples are not covered with asphalt; but most of the roads were cov¬ 
ered with sheet asphalt. I was in Washington, D. C., when Con¬ 
necticut Avenue was being taken up, and it was a most remarkable 
sight. It looked like an old fill. They took off two or three rows 
of the surface until they got to the old Evans pavement. It looked 
like a fill in State Street, Chicago. A concrete foundation was put 
in, and a'modern sheet asphalt pavement. At that time I collected 
one of these pieces of the old Evans pavement, and carried it to 
my laboratory as a curiosity, and had a section of it made. It is 
coarse stone and fine sand mixed up together, without any rational 
idea of grading. In those days they had no idea of the regular 
consistency of tar, and that sample of the old town pavement which 
is on exhibit in the Government Building will show you what the 
grading was. 

Mr. Eldredge : Were those pavements built under patents? 

Mr. Richardson: Yes. Mr. Evans owned a patent; but it was 
one of those patents where you must put so much sulphur and 
so much of this and that, and was of no value in the construction 
of these pavements. It was a patent used simply for promotion 
purposes. 

Mr. Campbell: In my experience I have heard so many reasons 
given for the cause of cracked pavements and I have had my own 
idea of the thing; but I have heard so many reasons I would like 
to have your idea. That seems to be the inain objection to this 
style of pavement 

Mr. Richardson: I have alluded to one cause of the cracking 
when speaking of the Toronto pavement, due to the fact that the 
sand will not carry bitumen; but that is not universal, nor by any 
means the general cause. The cause usually is due to the fact that 
the asphaltic cement has not a sufficient amount of flux and is not 
soft enough. It is also due to the fact that there is not enough as¬ 
phalt cement used, and not sufficient bitumen in the pavement. 
Those were the experiences of some years ago. In fact, during the 
last five years we have derived so much evidence of the stability of 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


133 


the mineral aggregates in the filler used that the asphalt to-day is 
from 20 to 30 points softer than it was five years ago. I would say 
that the matter of avoiding cracks to-day is very simple, if the per¬ 
son constructing the pavement has had sufficient experience and 
is skillful enough in laying it with the information at present to be 
had. 

An Inquirer: Mr. Thomson made a remark that a friend had 
offered him a dollar for every crack in a certain pavement on Capitol 
Hill. We have laid some pavement, and the same mixture has been 
used, and I recall two places where there are cracks on the hill. 
Why should there be a crack on the hill, and not on a level surface, 
from the same mixture? 

Mr. Richardson: There must be some peculiarity in the founda¬ 
tion. If the foundation cracks, the crack is carried through to the 
surface. It might interest you to know why the California rock 
asphalt did not prove satisfactory. This was due to the fact that 
the sand is of one size grain. It is a sand which is impregnated 
with bitumen; but there is no filler, nor anything to give stability. 
The only way that it can be brought to a proper consistency is by 
heating the asphaltic sand until the excessive oil is driven out. It 
could not be expected that would serve well in this climate; but if 
that be heated, and there be the proper amount of sand, you give 
the minimum aggregate stability, and a good pavement can be pro¬ 
vided, but it would require rather an extraordinary amount of skill 
to do it. 

Mr. Campbell: We have found that after a street has been com¬ 
pleted, and the rolling finished, the surface appears to be of a uni¬ 
form character in appearance and in every respect; but a little 
later on, after a rainstorm, you will notice some patches here and 
there over the surface where the asphalt appears to have attracted 
the moisture just enough to show a little dark patch. Closely ob¬ 
serving that, we find later on that the wheel seems to touch these 
patches or spots and a depression is caused. Later on this will 
hold a little water, and keeps increasing, until finally a hole ap¬ 
pears there, which spoils the whole surface of the pavement. Some¬ 
times I have noticed that you will find a series of these patches or 
blisters, as it were, and I have wondered what is the cause. I can 
quite understand that'the greatest care should be taken in the selec¬ 
tion of the sand; the sand forming from 90 to 92 per cent, of the 


134 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


composition. Consequently much care should be taken in the 
selection of the sand. If a good, clean, pure silica should be se¬ 
lected and carefully mixed and applied, I should think that would 
meet with success; but I have thought that possibly these patches 
were caused by poor material—poor sand, or earthy matter of some 
description being found among the sand. 

Mr. Richardson: It is entirely due to the fact that material is 
not properly raked out. You dump a load of material on the street, 
and it is one of the most important things in constructing an as¬ 
phalt pavement that it shall all be loosened up and spread evenly 
before it is rolled. If there is one place denser than another, the 
roller will rise, and will not press the looser portion; and the spots 
you speak of, without doubt, are due to the fact that the material 
has not been evenly raked. The very fact that the spots appear 
shortly after the road is laid shows that it has not been properly 
pressed. I only know one town which is situated the same as 
Toronto as regards the small amount of bitumen in the sand, and 
that is Moline, Illinois. They have the two sands which will carry 
bitumen less satisfactorily than any other city. 

Mr. Campbell: Would there be anything in the fact of the ma¬ 
terial cooling off at the side of the box? 

Mr. Richardson: The portions that are cooled are, of course, 
more difficult to rake than the warmer portions. 

(End of discussion.) 

ADDRESS TO MR. SAMUEL HILL. 

Hon. C. H. Hanford: It has been suggested, very properly I 
think, that the record of this Congress should contain some expres¬ 
sion of the value of Mr. Hill’s services in the cause of good roads, 
and that a committee be appointed to prepare a suitable resolution 
to be submitted to vote here this afternoon. 

Chairman Lawrence then appointed the following Committee to 
prepare the resolution: 

Chairman, Judge Hanford; and Messrs. E. L. Powers, of New 
York, and W. B. George, of Montana. 

This committee met during the luncheon interval and formulated 
the resolution. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


135 


AFTERNOON SESSION, 2 o’clock. 
TARMAC ROADS. 

The last session of the First Congress of American Road Builders 
was remarkable principally for the address of Mr. E. Purnell 
Hooley, of Nottingham, England, on the subject of “Tarmac 
Roads.” Mr. Hooley’s address was illustrated by several photo¬ 
graphs of roads he had made and samples of the roads and material 
of which they were constructed. 

Mr. Hooley, who was received with loud applause, spoke as fol¬ 
lows : 


Paper by E. Purnell Hooley. 

It is with considerable pride that I accept the kind invitation 
given to me by Mr. Hill to deliver a paper on a subject that has 
occupied in the past, and is occupying, the greater portion of every 
road engineer’s best energies in England, as well as every other 
civilized country, viz., how to construct good and permanent roads 
at the minimum of present and future expense. 

The only solution that the writer has been able to arrive at is 
the treatment of roads with tar as a binder, and this paper must be 
entitled “Tar and Its Uses in Modern Road Construction.” 

It is not here proposed to enter into any detail of general road 
construction. Other writers will deal, and doubtless have, as spe¬ 
cialists in the many branches of the road question; but there is 
little doubt all will unite in agreeing that good roads are absolute 
necessities in the advancement and development of a progressive 
country, and that without good roads it is impossible to advance, 

By roads, in this case, all roads, be it waterways, railways, horse¬ 
ways, are embraced; but for internal development and progress 
the ordinary highways must be the actual nerves that bring in 
touch the general internal public with the outside world. 

In England the maintenance of highways has become of such 
importance that hardly a day passes without some new proposal 
being made for dealing with the cost of management of the same. 

Broadly, at present, all the existing English main roads are vest¬ 
ed in the county councils. The urban and rural councils have the 
care of the branch of district roads. New roads have to be made by 
private individuals, and have to be thoroughly well constructed and 
properly dedicated before they are taken over by the local public 

This paper is to deal with ordinary country roads, not town 
streets. 


136 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


The question now is, how best to repair the existing roads; and 
America has the experience of England to guide her in the matter 
of expense, and trouble, and very possibly can avoid defeat, by carrying 
out modern ideas in laying out and constructing new roads on the very 
best and up-to-date systems, rather than having to patch up and 
undo the failures and disasters that the ratepayers of England are 
so loudly grumbling about, in the present high rates they are called 
upon to pay. 

Roads without proper foundations are the most expensive and 
disappointing to deal with, but to re-form the foundations of all 
the roads, 27,600 miles of main and possibly 92,300 miles of dis¬ 
trict roads, of England, say 120,000, would cost a sum so large that 
it is outside the bounds of possibility to even think of. 

The general practice of all thinking road engineers now seems 
to be to treat the present roads as the foundations upon which to 
build roads of a permanent character. 

In America it surely must be the only wise course to thoroughly 
construct new roads for the sake of present and future road users. 

Leaving all questions of foundations to be dealt with by other 
writers, with the general proviso that all roads should or must 
have foundations, the writer will turn his remarks to surfacing. 

Where roads have a first-class face, and it is possible to tar-wash 
that face at least once every four months at a cost of about 3 cents 
per square yard, tar as a surface binder will undoubtedly be a suc¬ 
cess in temporarily holding the surface of an ordinary macadam 
road together; but there its help and benefit ends. It will not make 
a weak road, subject to disintegration from below, a strong one. 
It will not hold material together when subject to disintegration 
from frost and thaw; for it certainly will not hold a road together 
in any part which mere surface treatment does not reach. 

But a road composed throughout of thoroughly tarred material 
will do all that it has here been stated surface treatment only will 
not do. 

Tarmacadam has been in use for many years in England, often 
it has been a success where least expected, and more often it has 
been a failure; and when a failure has to be faced, it is by far the 
best plan to go to the root of the trouble and endeavor to ascertain 
its cause, rather than attempt to continue the failure on the chance 
of success later. 

The failure of Tarmacadam has been due to the inability to se¬ 
cure the adherence of the tar to the material that was to be tarred 
The slightest moisture on the material or chilling of the tar means 
failure of adherence, and the use of a soft material that would allow 
of adherence means a failure through the road giving- wav as a 
whole. J 

No material can be used for the manufacture of Tarmacadam 
that is not hot or heated, and the more the material is heated, so as 
to allow the center of the material to be the hottest part, the bet- 
ter wdl be the tarring, but the weaker the material. 

The materials that have previously proved the most satisfactory 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


137 


in Tarmacadam work have been limestones from varying neighbor¬ 
hoods; but, if limestone has been subjected to a temperature suffi¬ 
cient to heat the stone throughout, the very nature will have been 
burnt or dried out of the stone, and the fact that tar is afterwards 
applied will not secure a road material that will stand anything but 
foot passenger traffic for any length of time. The difficulty also 
arises that, to heat sufficiently a large quantity of material, a dry¬ 
ing and store place of such dimensions is necessitated as to make 
the cost almost prohibitive, apart from the large amount of manual 
labor required in so many times handling the material. 

In the neighborhood of large iron works slag has been greatly, 
successfully, used as a road material, and when it was possible 
to convert that slag into Tarmacadam a fair result has from time 
to time been obtained. 

Those who know anything of iron as made in England know of 
the large heaps of refuse slag which surround the big blast fur¬ 
naces, and also know the disposal of the slag has long been a 
source of anxiety to the iron works owners. 

While watching the slag pouring out of a furnace one day, it 
struck the author that the whole trouble of heating the slag for the 
manufacture of Tarmacadam was unnecessary; for here was the 
material that later would be in an ideal condition, ready and of 
such a nature that the very best results in road construction could 
be obtained. 

He had a breaking and tar mixing plant constructed. The hot 
slag was brought from the furnaces in large caldrons, each contain¬ 
ing about four tons, and allowed to stand for about twenty-four 
hours until consolidated. It was then tipped onto a cooling 
ground, and about twelve hours later, when the outside tempera¬ 
ture of the slag was about 160° Fahr., broken up either by hand or 
by means of a dumping hammer, and conveyed, while the outside 
was still warm, to the breaker. It was then passed through break¬ 
ers and screened to form varying gauges. 

The center portion of the material, which was still the hottest, 
was passed into a steam-heated cylinder constructed to keep the 
material in motion ; heated tar, pitch, and other compounds being 
poured into the same cylinder so as to form a perfect bath, and 
the whole turned and churned up. From the cylinder it was de¬ 
posited into the railway trucks and was ready for use. 

This material is delivered by rail where required, and can be pro¬ 
duced at the works in a most remunerative manner for eight shill¬ 
ings and six pence, or say two dollars, per ton, to which, of course, 
must be added railway freights when conveyed to a distance. 

The material is delivered onto the roads in the county of Not¬ 
tinghamshire, with a railway journey of thirty miles, and up to 
three miles of road cartage, allowing for a thickness of three inches, 
when consolidated, of road crust, at a cost of from 60 to 70 cents 
per yard super. 

This material has been in use for seven winters on a road with a 
water-logged, round-stone foundation, that previously had to be 


138 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


coated with 2% inches of Leicestershire syenite each year, and is 
now in good and perfect condition, with practically no surface 
dust, and absolutely no dust, as previously was the case, from 
attrition and disintegration. (Photographs Nos. 2 and 5.) 

The scavenging is reduced to the removal of horse droppings and 
earth brought from the adjoining fields. 

This material has been registered under the name of “Tarmac,” 
to keep it from being confused with the old-fashioned Tarmac¬ 
adam; and it is different from the latter, inasmuch as in its use the 
road surface is composed of a good wearing material 1% inches in 
gauge, with a minimum of tar to waterproof it, and from its proper 
adherence, instead of, as previously was the case in Tarmacadam, 
being composed of very fine particles of softer stone, with a large 
amount of tar only partially adhering to it. 

To construct a good Tarmac road, it is necessary to have an 
ordinary road as a bottom, or as good a foundation as is possible; 
if a waterproof one is desired, then it must be of Tarmac. The 
bottom layer of Tarmac can be of 4-inch gauge material, laid se¬ 
curely and rolled, with the interstices filled up with finer Tarmac, 
and the whole steam-rolled. The next layer should be about three- 
fourths of an inch in thickness, of %-inch Tarmac, and left un¬ 
rolled; on this should be supplied a 234-inch gauge Tarmac, rolled 
into the %-inch, and, when rolled, %-inch Tarmac would.be swept 
with a brush into every crevice or open joint. Then a further 
layer of %-inch Tarmac should be applied as before, unrolled, and, 
as a last coating, a perfect layer of li/ 2 -inch Tarmac should be ap¬ 
plied, and, after the roller has passed twice each way over its face, 
%-inch Tarmac should again be swept into each crevice, so that 
a perfect face is presented. The whole must again be steam-rolled 
by a steam roller being passed over three or four times, and the 
road is at once fit for traffic. (See drawing of ideal Tarmac road, 
cross-section No. 1.) 

If the traffic will not allow of the whole width of the road sur¬ 
face being stopped at one time, the work can be carried on by tak¬ 
ing half the width at a time; but care must be shown in leaving 
each layer of material to form a Greek key lap. 

It is bad work to attempt to feather the edges or thin down 
a Tarmac road. When a patch is applied, or a coating ended, it 
should be finished with a square or butt joint; if otherwise dealt 
with, the edges will fray or waste away. 

The camber, or cross-fall, of a Tarmac road, should not be great¬ 
er than 1 in 50 from the center to the sides, and a perfect formation 
should be carried throughout from the foundation, so that the 
whole thickness should be complete. 

There is no need for pitched gutter courses in Tarmac roads, 
but in lieu a final washing of boiling tar to a width of 18 inches or 
2 feet from the curbing to form a gutter prevents scouring and 
assists sweeping up in cities and populous places. 

In the maintenance of ordinary macadam roads great difficulty 
is experienced in patching holes and depressions. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


139 


A most satisfactory patch can be carried out by means of Tar¬ 
mac; and the practice is followed on all the main roads of Notting¬ 
ham, either for ordinary wear in water-bound roads, or to repair 
disturbances in Tarmac roads. 

It is necessary to cut out to the required depth any portion of 
the road surface that is loose, worn, thin, or disturbed, so as to 
leave a sharp, cleanly defined edge. This must be swept clean from 
any sign of dust in dry weather. Then a thin coat of %-inch Tar¬ 
mac should be applied with the greatest thickness at the edges. 
The necessary material for the patch filling is then applied, well 
and carefully rammed with a hand rammer, and, when rammed, 
any interstices filled with %-inch Tarmac, rammed again, and 
when nearly dry the whole should be swept over with dust from 
the adjoining road surface. A perfectly level, neat patch is thus 
formed. (A better idea of this may be appreciated by a reference 
to drawing No. 2, and the beneficial result is clearly shown in 
photograph No. 3.) Here will be seen patches on the left hand, 
applied in the foregoing manner, and after twelve months’ wear 
remaining good and strong as ever, very faint in outline, while the 
road adjoining is going to pieces in dry weather through heavy 
traffic and disintegration, though washed with tar. 

Photographs are also presented showing (Nos. 1 and 4) a length 
of Tarmac road adjoining a level crossing immediately outside the 
town of Newark, Notts, and adjoining the Midland Railway Sta¬ 
tion. This road, previous to treatment in Tarmac in 1898, was an¬ 
nually repaired by the use of 214 -inch guage water-bound Leices¬ 
tershire syenite, the best available road stone of the neighborhood. 
When first laid the Tarmac cost two shillings four pence per yard 
super. This portion has once been refaced by the application of a 
li^-inch coat of Tarmac in 1905, and to-day is in perfect condition, 

Photograph No. 5 shows the surface of a main road a mile and 
a half outside the city of Nottingham, population 300,000. The 
road is greatly used by farm carts, motors, and motor lorries, as 
well as ordinary vehicular traffic of all kinds. It has been laid four 
winters, and has had no other material applied to it. It is prac¬ 
tically free from dust, and is absolutely an ideal road for all types 
of self-propelled and other traffic. 

It is difficult to condense a subject such as this to the limits of 
an ordinary paper, and the best apologies are offered for the length 
that the paper has assumed. 

If the hearers or readers are interested, and should any good 
result therefrom, the writer is well repaid, and, while frankly ad¬ 
mitting that he does not state he has of necessity solved the road 
difficulty, he here lays the result of his labors before the great 
American people at their first Road Congress, and hopes the same 
will be appreciated and approved of. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Here I finished my paper, but I could never forgive myself if I 
thus ended abruptly. I cannot—I dare not, for my conscience’s 


140 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


sake—say my public farewell to you without thanking you, one 
and all, for your kindness, your open-heartedness, your hospitality, 
and the right royal reception I have received in this your beautiful 

country. . 

The Great God has been bountiful to you in placing you all in 
such heavenly surroundings, and I am proud to feel, and see, that 
he has also given you men who, in their humble position as his 
instruments, are fully alive to their great responsibilities. I can¬ 
not name all these men—you know them better than I do—but 1 
must name three. 

I have never seen more beautifully constructed town roads, with 
such perfect faces, as those now perfected by Mr. Thomson. In 
this man you have an engineer that any city in England would be 
proud to employ, and could confidently trust their best interests 
to. Let me ask you to continue your trust, and let me by these 
few words show my appreciation of a great man. 

In my opinion, in Mr. Lancaster you have a peerless teacher en¬ 
gaged in what we in England call real “spade work”—the most 
fruitful of all good work, ‘for without it you cannot reap the good 
fruit hereafter. I have as an Englishman more than an apprecia¬ 
tion of such a man and such work. His position is one I dare not 
undertake. The responsibility of it would be too great. But he 
has undertaken it. Remember this, and its responsibility, and be 
merciful, be kind, to him, and I beg you will help him; for he is 
helping others, and by that help helping you. The future genera¬ 
tions will look back at his efforts, and I know will live to thank 
God for the kindly diffusion of his more than useful knowledge. 

And now, ladies and gentlemen, let me finally conclude by pay¬ 
ing my real respects to the man of all others that I feel you and I 
owe more to than any words of mine can ever express. You know 
whom I refer to—if he will allow me—may I call him my friend, 
Mr. Hill! 

May I say Sam Hill? For as Sam Hill I firmly believe he loves 
you to think of him. Your and my friend—my host—Sam Hill! 
Look at him ! To see him is to see he stands head and shoulders 
above his fellows, and to know him is to love him. Yes, love him, 
as real men and women should love their leaders; for is he not 
physically and morally a leader? I have never met such a man in 
my life, and I fear I never shall see his like again. He to me is 
peerless. He has no ax of his own to grind. His one object, that 
I have found, is for your and his country’s good, and I know no 
man in this life more entitled to your and my respect and admira¬ 
tion. When the time comes, which must come to us all, for the 
Great Master to call my friend to his final rest, I feel the best 
epitaph that could be written on his earthly tomb would be: 

“He Helped.” 

Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you again and again for all your 
kindness and patience, and say from the very bottom of my heart: 
Farewell. God be with you, in all your best endeavors. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


141 


Chairman Lawrence: I would like to suggest that a special vote 
of thanks should be tendered to Mr. Hooley, the great Englishman 
who has addressed us so very eloquently. 

A rising vote of thanks was heartily tendered Mr. Hooley, who 
in reply said: “I cannot thank you more than saying: ‘Thank 
you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart/ ” 

DISCUSSION. 

Mr. Richardson: I have been greatly interested listening to Mr. 
Hooley, and would like to ask him what thickness of tarmac he 
puts on the top of his foundation. 

Mr. Hooley: I do not like the term “foundation.” I make the 
old road my foundation. That is the road, and what I have seen 
of your country roads I should be content to put it right on top 
of one of these roads. You want to put the three-eighths material; 
that is one thickness. On top of that you want to put the two and 
a quarter inch material that rolls down practically two inches. On 
top of that, when temporarily rolled, you want to put anotlier layer 
of three-eighths to form a bed, and into that you want to steam-roll 
the one and a half, and when you have steam-rolled the one and a 
half you want to fill the interstices with fine material, and you get 
the finest piece of road. The “Denby” which we use is a light 
slag. If you break a piece, if you take a piece and break it, you 
will see that the inside shows a brown mark where the tar has got 
into the material, and that is what you want in Tarmacadam. Mr. 
Richardson took me since I came here to a piece of road, and we 
both smiled that anybody should be silly enough to make a Tar¬ 
macadam as we saw it. You cannot make it by putting dirt into 
tar. You want to make the material solid, that will stand your 
traffic, and not only wear, but allow the horses to .stand on top of 
it. If you once get such a piece of good road, you will find any ani¬ 
mal will stand on it in perfect comfort. In England we are a na¬ 
tion of grumblers, and to get over the possibility of anybody grum¬ 
bling we make a strip of tarmac up the middle, and at the sides the 
ordinary macadam, and we have never made one but what the 
farmers have said: “What do you want to go and put mud on the 
road for. Give us a whole road of your tarmac. You may get 


142 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


some idea of the traffic on our roads when I tell you that we have 
as many as six or seven traction engines, weighing from sixty to 
seventy tons each, passing over our roads in an hour. 

An Inquirer: Can you use anything but slag? Can you use 
limestone, or that sort of stuff? 

Mr. Hooley: Limestone, as we have it in Kngland, is a failure. 
If you get an ordinary piece of stone, let us say ordinary granite, 
and you try to warm it, you can get the outside hot, but not the 
inside; for, if you do, you take the nature out of the stone. If you 
could make it warm right through, I would make tarmac at once; 
but if it is cold in the center, and hot outside, the tar gets away from 
it, and you get tar dust as bad as you can get it; but if you get it 
absorbed and thoroughly joined into it, you will have a perfect road, 
and I am only too thankful I have been able to use that refuse slag. 
If you had seen the letters which I have received, you would see 
that there is some good in a tarmac road made of slag. 

Mr. Terrace: I am a farmer, and have been waiting anxiously 
to ask a question. We have heard a good deal in this Congress with 
regard to our streets, the making of our streets in the city, and the 
maintaining of the streets; but there has been very little said with 
regard to our country roads. You have been out to Orilla, and have 
gone over our improved highways. You have noticed the material 
that these highways are constructed of, and I want to ask you this 
question. In my opinion our present improved highways are a 
failure. We have got to get down and adopt something else, or this 
movement in this state is a failure. What 1 want to ask you as a 
farmer, with your great knowledge, I would like to have your opin¬ 
ion as to whether you think, with the present material we have at 
hand, and with your tar, that we can construct a road anywhere 
near as good as that road you have there (indicating sample road). 
It may cost more at first, but it certainly wfill be the cheapest at 
the finish, and we might just as well, as farmers, get right down to 
it and prepare ourselves to meet the cost. It is a business proposi¬ 
tion, and it is only a mere bagatelle compared with the benefits we 
will get out of it. 

Mr. Hooley: I should not like to say yes or no. I cannot make 
that road of granite or of trap. I cannot do it; but, when a man 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


143 


like Mr. Hill tells me that he knows of a material which is warm 
and warmed through by your beautiful sunshine, directly he told 
me that, I said I could make tarmac, and he has promised to get me 
some for me to take home, and I have promised him that I would 
see the best use that can be made of it. My idea was to make 
something—may I say it—out of nothing, to make use of that 
which is waste. Before I got to Chicago, I saw you had a new 
town, the steel town, I think they call it, and they were beginning 
taking their slag from their works, and in that you have a ma¬ 
terial from which tarmac could be made. I am going to make the 
material with which Mr. Hill is to supply me as hot as I can by 
dipping it into the slag, and see if I cannot make the matter adhere 
to it, and Mr. Hill will be able to show you the result of what I 
have done with the material he sends me. 

An Inquirer: Can you do it with water gas tar ? 

Mr. Hooley: No; you must have tar absolutely, and distilled 
tar. Water gas tar is too cheap and nasty for anything. The only 
thing to do with it is to get rid of it. In my experience, you must 
get good distilled tar, and with a proper mixture, not only tar, but 
rosin and cement, or you cannot make a proper road, and you must 
use a proper proportion of each; but, if I gave you the figures of 
how this is done, I would be doing what I had no right to do in my 
present position. I am not personally interested to the extent of 
five shillings in this matter; but men have ventured a great deal 
in this for my sake, and I must not give away the secrets which 
they do not wish me to. I may say that the mixture is tar, pitch, 
rosin, and cement; but, until you know the proportions, do not 
waste much money, and find yourself £500 or £600 out of pocket. 
You get a mixture which, when-you see it, you will say: It is 
the simplest thing. What a fool I was not to see it before. So 
was I. 

I would like to get some of you gentlemen to come and run over 
some of my roads. I have five straight miles out of the city of 
Nottingham, and absolutely no dust or dirt on it. I am not going 
to say I can keep the dust of! the road that comes from the fields. 
Mr. Hill, Mr. Lancaster, and Mr. Thomson have seen the road and 
traveled over it. You can go on the ordinary road by the side of 
it, and see the dust coming behind a motor in such thickness that 


144 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


you cannot see the motor at all; but when you get on this road 
you will find a beautiful, smooth surface free from dust. It is a 
revelation, and we get motorists from all over England to come 
and run over this road. In Nottingham we have good roads, but 
this is the best. Any of you who have been to Brighton will know 
the Midway road, the invalid road, and this is the road they go up 
and down to avoid the dust nuisance. It was originally con¬ 
structed for automobile speed races, and the records made on a 
public highway were made on that road. 

Question: Could you tell us the cost? 

Mr. Hooley: Something like from three to four shillings a yard; 
much further away than we are. Of course, there is the cost of 
taking it down from one side of England to the other; within the 
points which are close handy, the cost is not as much. 

Question: What is the rate per ton per mile? 

Mr. Hooley: It would be over eight shillings a ton to Brighton, 
because it is four shillings to London. To put the steam roller 
over the material requires no skilled labor. Any farmer can put it 
on as well as any of my workmen, if they follow what they are told 
to do. You can put the roller on in less than an hour afterwards 
without seeing any mark. I have a picture here of a park near Ox¬ 
ford, and the gentleman who took a fancy to my road said, “If you 
can make that for traffic, let me have it near my place,” and I put 
it down at a cost of under two shillings a yard. I have also an¬ 
other picture here of a road at Aldershot which is dustless, so that 
the dust cannot worry the poor soldiers who are lying in the hos¬ 
pital. The total thickness of my road, when consolidated, is a lit¬ 
tle over three inches. 

Question: Have you noticed whether or not, with the automo¬ 
biles running over your road, whether the adhesiveness of the rub¬ 
ber tire takes out particles of the road material and causes a disin¬ 
tegration. of the road? 

Mr. Hooley: I can best answer this by asking if you remem¬ 
ber the days when you were boys and played with the old sucker, 
and how you could lift up a stone by it and it would hold it up. 
The automobile is doing exactly the same thing with the road. It 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


145 


sucks it out. Just at the point of contact the rubber is flat and you 
can hear it give. With my road you cannot get any sucking action 
out of it; but where you get a water-bound road, it has gone to 
pieces in less than a month, and yet some people are fools enough 
to keep throwing money into it and thinking they are making roads. 
If I were in the circumstances of the man who made that road, I 
should have felt I was doing very fair work if I carried out the 
general practice that was being carried out on that road; but I do 
not do it, because I know it is wrong, and I am thankful to say my 
county council have taken the same line. They say: “Why waste 
money? We do not want to pay rates for wasting money.” They 
do not keep their county surveyors to look at. 

Question: I would like to know whether tarmac can be made 
out of other materials than slag. 

Mr. Hooley: I have not found any satisfactory results from 
anything but slag. Mr. Hill is going to send me the material, as I 
said, to see if I can make it out of that, and if I can I am going to 
send the result back. If it will stand, the tar will be fcs firm when 
it arrives here as when it leaves England. I might say the formula 
of our slag is 36.56 of silica, 16.40 of aluminum, 37.0 of lime. 

Mr. Richardson: We have slags of the same type and composi¬ 
tion through the Middle West, but not out here; but I may say I 
think we have great hopes that we can do out here with your as¬ 
phalt on the Pacific Slope what Mr. Hooley has done with his 
tar, for the reason that we have bright sun here, which warms 
the rock through, and we have no difficulty in the East in getting 
adhesion. 

The strong point seems to be in the foundation. He puts %- 
inch material on, and then 2%, and this is forced by compres¬ 
sion up into the other. The great difficulty you will find in this 
country is the great cost of the stone. The % material would be 
something extremely expensive in this country. Our crushers 
make plenty of 2*4, 1/4, and %; but we do not get the %. But, as 
I say, I see great hopes for you gentlemen on the Pacific Coast to 
construct something of that type, using an asphalt cement for the 
purpose. 

I wish to express my personal thanks to Mr. Hooley for what he 
has said. It has added much to my knowledge of the question 


146 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


of construction of a waterproof pavement, and I have no doubt 
you have all appreciated it as thoroughly as I have. 

Mr. Lancaster: As to the kind of asphaltic oil? 

Mr. Richardson: The residual pitch; but you cannot get that 
to coat the stone, on account of its viscosity. Bring it down, by 
adding just as much oil as ordinary paving cement. The difficulty 
of heating stone artificially and coating it with tar is that the tar 
runs off the stone and the heat destroys the tar, because tar will 
not stand high temperature; but the asphalt has been heated to 700 
degrees, and a little overheating does not damage it in the slight¬ 
est degree. 

A recess was then agreed upon, on motion of Judge Hanford, to 
give the delegates an opportunity of examining the sample sections 
of Mr. Hooley’s roads and also the pictures of the roads which he 
had constructed. 

After the recess Prof. Lancaster showed some stereopticon views 
of Mr. Hooley’s road, which he, Mr. Hill, and Mr. Thomson had 
ridden over on their recent visit to England, after which the dis¬ 
cussion was continued. 

Mr. Richardson: Referring again to these roads, we have no 
slag here, and so we cannot use it. You must take your trap rock, 
which occurs all through the state, and you will have no difficulty 
in coating it with asphalt. You could not coat it with coal tar; 
but with the asphalt there is no danger of overheating. It has 
been submitted to 700 degrees in preparation, so a little extra heat 
can do no harm. 

Question: How high would you heat it ? 

Mr. Richardson: To a temperature of 350 degrees without any 
damage; but you can heat it hotter. I think there is a great future 
in this part of the world for the construction of roads of Mr. 
Hooley’s type with asphalt, putting the fine material first, and then 
the coarse, and then the fine material into the voids, and thus have 
a fine material from the top down. The only objection here is the 
cost involved. I was discussing with Mr. Parker, of Massachu¬ 
setts, a few moments ago, and he said it was quite a difficult thing 
to get the three-eighths material at the bottom, and very expensive. 
The only way to arrive at the expense was to keep traffic data, to 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


147 


see what it cost to carry a ton a mile, and the Massachusetts High¬ 
way Commission are accumulating these data. They are construct¬ 
ing a road from Gloucester, Massachusetts, on this plan with as¬ 
phalt, so the state of Washington can learn from Massachusetts 
what there is to be learned in that direction. 

Prof. Lancaster: Mr. Hooley’,s road is certainly the best we have 
seen, and the question that seems to trouble us all is the expense; 
but we do not want the people of the state of Washington to be dis¬ 
couraged if they were led to believe that only that kind of road can 
be made to stand. 

Mr. Richardson: I could have brought you from New York a 
section of asphaltic macadam road, and you could have told from 
that; but the trouble is it is expensive. You want to avoid the 
necessity of having a plant for the heating and coating. We can 
do it under the summer sun in the East, and probably you could 
do it out here. 

Mr. Parker: I do not know that it is safe for me to venture on 
any explanation of what we have been trying in Massachusetts at 
present. We have tried in the last few years something like two 
hundred different experiments with different kinds of tar and oil, 
and at the present time we are not satisfied with any one we have 
tried. We are quite sure we can reduce the number to a small fig¬ 
ure, because of experiments we have made so many have failed. 
Mr. Lancaster has suggested that I should say something to you in 
regard to the Aitkin machine, the spraying machine invented in 
England, and used over there for some years, and which has been 
perfected until it has reached the machine which we are now hav¬ 
ing brought over. We have two in Massachusetts, which have 
been in use two or three months, and as I believe with very great 
success. We have found that we can use the heavy asphaltic oil 
in this machine quite as easily as any combination of tar. 

Prof. Lancaster: I believe in the use of oil. The only thing I 
wanted to draw out of Mr. Richardson was his opinion regarding it. 
We have an abundance of oil at low cost, and could get seventy and 
possibly eighty per cent, asphaltic oil at the lowest cost. 

Mr. Parker: Heavy asphaltic oil of that sort can be used on 
sand alone. At the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts, where the 


M.R.B.—11 


148 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


roads are made up largely of sand, on account of the cost of the 
transportation of stone, and where it is largely a question of build¬ 
ing roads which can be used during the summer months, the ques¬ 
tion of transportation by land was the most serious one that ex¬ 
isted there. We tried nearly four years ago to use a heavy as¬ 
phaltic oil mixed on the ground with pure sand of the Cape, and 
after some year or so of use, so that the sand by chemical and oth¬ 
er action could mix together, a perfectly satisfactory sand road 
to drive over was the result. Of course, if that could be done, you 
would have the cheapest road it is possible to make, because for 
you here the heavy oil from California, which you can get at a dol¬ 
lar and a quarter or a dollar and a half a barrel, we have to pay from 
five to seven and a half cents a gallon for. We have tried the spraying 
machine on the surface of the road of the macadam roads in the 
following way: As it comes on the road, it feeds the tar into a 
spray, which distributes, according to the pressure applied, a gal¬ 
lon for from four to nine or ten cubic yards. The effect of this is 
that the tar is spread absolutely uniformly, and a very thin coat is 
very much more effective and beneficial to the roads, when ap¬ 
plied under pressure, than the application of tar or oil in any other 
way, and the immediate distribution of the sand or gravel upon 
this surface, and rolled in or not, as the case may be, but preferably 
rolled in with a steam roller, produces a road which is absolutely 
satisfactory. The application of automobiles on this surface is to 
perhaps tear it up in places, and make it, therefore, unsatisfactory; 
but you overcome that by the continued application of this, so that 
when you have made two or three applications, and the sand has 
been absorbed by the oil or tar applied, you can get a thickness on 
the surface of the old road of two or three inches or more. The ex¬ 
periments we are engaged in making at the present time are as to 
whether it is possible to take out old, partially worn macadam 
roads, and restore them to a good, new surface that will stand the 
constant wear and tear of automobiles and other traffic. That is 
what we are in search of, and I do not hesitate to say I believe this 
is one of the remedies we are to find satisfactory and effective. 
You can easily see that oil put into one of these machines fitted in 
this way will distribute the oil in an absolutely even coat through¬ 
out. We have found the application of oil on a sand road, not mac- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


149 


adam, or hard, it is very difficult to get even, because by any means 
you apply it, by horse or otherwise, you destroy the even surface of 
the road, and the oil collects in the holes, which is bad for the road, 
not only making it uneven, but unsatisfactory in its final composi¬ 
tion. The present state of our experiment with these Aitkin ma¬ 
chines proves them to be the most promising machine we have had. 
I do not know that Mr. Hooley would agree with me. He has a 
different theory of construction, and has been very successful; but 
it is wholly outside of the practice of any of the ordinary conditions 
in the market. 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: I would like to add a word or two to what 
Mr. Parker has said. We are no doubt all of us very much dis¬ 
appointed to find that Mr. Hooley hesitated to speak of any other 
system of road making than that which he himself has patented. 
There are in England several very successful systems of road mak¬ 
ing by the use of tar. We came from Paris to London and from 
London to Nottingham to examine Mr. Hooley’s road, which, as 
has been said here, proved a wonderful surprise to us, and they 
were just as successful as the samples here would indicate. Mr. Hill, 
however, was not satisfied that that was the only kind of road that 
could be made. He said he had been round the world too long to 
believe that there was nothing but iron blast furnace slag that 
could be coated with asphalt or tar and made to adhere, so, while 
he left me in the North Country, he, with Mr. Lancaster, went to 
London to hunt up others. In a few days they called for me, and 
I went to London to continue the examination of the roads which 
they had discovered, and with which they were very well pleased. 
I spent two weeks in England, after they left, examining this mat¬ 
ter, and as a result of that examination I am satisfied that what is 
known as the Gladwell system of road making in England is equal¬ 
ly as effective, and perhaps more economical, than Mr. Hooley’s, 
except where the slag is very easy to be had. In the Gladwell sys¬ 
tem the base is simply rolled down, being about four inches of or¬ 
dinary macadam. Then the Aitkin machine, of which Mr. Parker 
has spoken, and of which there were photographs thrown on the 
wall, is run over the macadam, and it is sprayed with a very hot tar, 
which is cut with about three per cent, of linseed oil. This oil 
seems to cut the tar, and makes it very tough and viscous, making 


150 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


it flow, covering a great deal more ground than it otherwise would, 
and being put on very thin with the linseed oil it has great adhesive¬ 
ness. Then on top of that is put half an inch of good coarse sand, 
then the machine is run over the sand, and it is saturated with the 
same material, and then there is a top course of macadam laid on 
and rolled into this sand. Now this rolling gives a peculiarly smooth 
surface, from the fact that there is a mortar or bedding course of 
soft material between the bottom and the top. When the half inch 
of sand has been saturated, the top rock is laid on and rolled in, and 
the sand is driven into the crevices below and rises above, so that 
we have a top stone fastened by the asphalt or tar mortar to the 
lower stone, the mortar of tar doing service. Instead of being on 
top of the roadway, as many people try to put it, it is between the 
stones, and not worn by the surface of the wheels, and is slightly plas¬ 
tic, so that, if a stone is moved a little in ordinary weather, it will bed 
again, and the automobile appears to have no evil influence upon it. 
While I was in England the state of Washington ordered one of these 
machines, and it is now on the way, and I believe at present may be 
puttering along somewhere in Canada. Perhaps Mr. Campbell has got 
hold of it, because it was in his neighborhood the last time I heard of 
it on the way to Seattle. 

Mr. Campbell: We will let you know how it works. (Laugh¬ 
ter.) 

Mr. Thomson: I also went to Birmingham, where they have 
laid many miles of roadway in the neighborhood of the city of Bir¬ 
mingham in this manner, and find it a very great success, and in a 
recent letter which I received from Mr. Stilgoe, the city engineer 
of Birmingham, he tells me they are making a number of miles of 
streets in Birmingham in this manner this year. They use Guern¬ 
sey granite for the surface, and rock which they get in the neigh¬ 
borhood for the base. They simply put in from three-eighths to 
one-half inch of the saturated sand, and it binds the top and bottom 
together excellently; and Birmingham, which is a pretty thrifty 
community, is willing to spend a large sum of money for these 
roads. I also visited other cities in Central England, which are fol¬ 
lowing the same course, and I have no question but that the stone 
which we have in the state of Washington, with the asphaltic oils 
which we have, can be bound together to make nearly, if not equal- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


151 


as good a road as this of Brother Hooley. I do not want to 
discourage Mr. Hooley as to his road, but he is the father of the 
successful use of tar, and has the misfortune to believe that his 
children are the only good-looking ones in England; but we believe 
we will make as good roads as they do in England by the use of the 
machine which we have coming here, coating the under course, 
saturating the binder course of sand, and rolling the top course in¬ 
to it. 

Mr. Parker : I would say, further, we have tried and are now 
trying such as you describe, by applying the tar out of this ma¬ 
chine directly on the stones, with the sand on top, and another 
course on top, very much as you have already described it, only 
that the application of the tar is made by the machine, and not the 
ordinary method of application, and by the continued application 
you can get as much tar or oil as is considered necessary. 

Mr. Thomson: What do you put on top? 

Mr. Parker: We really do not use anything, except, perhaps, a 
little sand which has been treated with asphaltic oil to sweep into 
the crevices to prevent the clay sifting in. It takes very little to 
fill the crevices. I do not wish to take up your time, but what we 
have discovered I am anxious to let others know. It is necessary 
only in such cases as when your oil or tar will naturally by gravi¬ 
tation work towards the surface. As it conies up you cover it with 
sand, or often gravel or stone chips, .and put on as much as the oil 
will absorb, because, when the oil or tar comes through enough 
to be unpleasant, all you have to do is to put some more on. That 
is the whole solution. 

Question: Have you inspected the roads of Kentucky? We 
have macadam roads there. 

Mr. Thomson: Yes; before you were born. 

Question: I ask this, because they have recently made some 
very good roads there, and our construction now would certainly 
be different to what it was when you inspected it. 

Prof. Lancaster: Some three years ago I saw the roads in Ken¬ 
tucky, and took some photographs of them, so I am familiar with 
what is being done. Talking about the machine which Mr. Parker 
is using in Massachusetts, and which we are going to have here: 


152 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


We can put on such a small amount of oil or tar, and not get any 
excess on, but in an even way. The least anybody was able to get 
on the road heretofore has been four-tenths to half a gallon per 
square yard by the ordinary method. It would take half a gallon, 
using every care, and having the road clean and the material hot, 
and spreading the material on with brooms, it would take at least 
half a gallon to the square yard. The English have got the best 
results using one gallon to six square yards, so that you will see 
the great amount of saving of material by using the new machine. 

Mr. Parker: The oil or tar applied, I find it is better that it be 
not distributed before you get the sand or gravel on 

Prof. Lancaster: We thought we were going to get this machine 
to Washington first, and had arranged for it; but, when Sir Herbert 
Praed found the machine was coming to the A.-Y.-P., he said he 
wanted to build the best possible type, and he sent Mr. Parker our 
machine, and made another for us. (Laughter.) 

Mr. Parker: Sir Herbert Praed told me that he was afraid to 
send the machine, because the Yankees would improve on his pat¬ 
ents. He sent it to the Yankees, however, because he distrusted 
the shrewdness of you people here. (Another outburst of laugh¬ 
ter.) 

Mr. A. W. Campbell: With reference to the matter of using tar 
and asphaltum material for making roads does not remove the dust 
nuisance, which is about as important a question as has come before 
this conference. I have been exceedingly pleased with the papers 
here, and paid special attention to the way of treating these roads, 
and we have had the result of experience and investigation made by 
Mr. Thomson and others, and it looks as if we almost have to 
adopt something of this kind in connection with the streets of our 
towns and cities and the leading roads which are heavily traveled 
on coming into large centers. It has been a question in my mind 
as to whether we are going to be able to afford the extra expense 
of applying this on the leading rural roads outside of the city, and 
it necessarily adds considerable to the cost. The dust, however, 
appears to be almost unendurable, even on some of our best-con¬ 
structed stone roads. I have seen them in our province and in the 
state of New York, where they have built some of the finest roads 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


153 


on the continent of America. The dust nuisance seems to be al¬ 
most intolerable, even when they have been experimenting with the 
use of tar and oil and asphalt. The automobile seems to contribute 
very much to this nuisance; but the investigations I have made 
prove that the automobile does not create the dust. The auto¬ 
mobile simply raises the dust, which dust is created by the traffic 
—the hard tires upon the wheels. The broad, soft tire of the auto¬ 
mobile will not wear the stone, but will pick up every particle that 
has been ground out of the worn stone; but the heavy loads upon 
the hard tires wear the stone into dust proportionate to the quality 
of the stone. If the stone is tough the wear is less, and if it is soft, 
of course, the wear is greater; but it is the hard iron tire coming 
into contact with the stone that creates the dust. The automobile 
passing over that road lifts the dust, and removes what otherwise 
might be a cushion between the hard tire and the stone; but the 
dust is created by the hard tire. I have seen many of our most 
excellent roads used extensively by heavy traffic from farm districts 
and it seems impossible for us to get an ordinary stone hard enough 
to resist the traffic, and it appears to me that one of our chief du¬ 
ties now is to study how best to minimize the creation of dust. We 
must use the softer stones to a very considerably extent until we 
have reached the time when tar, asphalt, and other such material 
can be adopted for the main roads generally; and I believe one way 
of minimizing the wear on the stone is, if possible, to increase the 
width of the hard tire of the wagon wheels. Reduce the cause of 
the dust, and we will have made one long step towards removing 
the dust nuisance. Some scheme by which we can induce the 
people to broaden the tires will reduce the wear. We make a road 
by using heavy rollers composed of broad wheels, and without that 
we could not properly construct a road. We can also maintain 
roads by carrying loads on broad tires resembling as near as pos¬ 
sible the roller. Keep the road in repair, and remove the cause of 
the wear by increasing the width of the tire. I think that is one 
very important question for us to consider, and it will tend to re¬ 
duce and minimize the creation of dust. 


154 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


FENCES, HEDGEROWS, AND SHADE TREES. 

This paper was read by Mr. Harold Parker, of Massachusetts, 
who in introducing the subject said: 

I am afraid you are getting more than you expected. I was as¬ 
signed this very interesting subject, and I wrote a short paper 
treating the subject generally. Since I came here, and have lis¬ 
tened to your patient consideration of the matters that have been 
presented to you, and have noticed, the interest which you appear 
to take in the construction and maintenance of roads, it seems to 
me you really ought not to be put to any further test. I think the 
paper ought to be laid on the table, and you should be allowed to 
go now, and if you say the word the paper shall be laid on the 
table, and we will close. (Cries of “Read it.’) T -tr 

Last winter I read a paper before the Governors of New Lng- 
land, and, the conditions of reading it being bad, jt being m one 
of the theaters of Boston, and I not having read it after writing 
it, I had great difficulty in making- it out, and it was declared m 
Some of the press the next morning that I had not myself pre¬ 
pared the paper I read the day before. . I should like to say I did 
prepare the paper, and also prepared this, and if there is any fault 
to be found it belongs to me alone. (Laughter.) 


TREES, FENCES, AND HEDGEROWS. 

By Harold Parker, Member American Society oe Civil Engi¬ 
neers, Chairman Massachusetts Highway Commission. 

In discussing the questions which are indicated in the title of 
this paper, it should be borne in mind that two causes for the re¬ 
sults that have followed man’s effort to beautify and improve what 
was first done from necessity alone must be taken into considera¬ 
tion, in order to bring before you the conclusion which I desire to 
make plain. 

In the first place, before we can take into account the roadside 
trees, hedgerows, and fences, we must consider that the road it¬ 
self was the first development of the necessities of man. He had 
to have a road which led from one point to another, not only for 
his own passage, but for that of the vehicle which carried his 
produce, or later contributed to his pleasure; so that, in the laying 
out of highways as means of transportation alone, neither the com¬ 
fort of those using them nor the beauty of their surroundings was 
considered, the aim of the road builders being to secure the easiest 
means of getting from place to place. 

It is not supposed to be a part of this discussion that I should 
consider the location, construction, or maintenance of roadways, 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


155 


except in so far as the trees and roadside growths may be either a 
protection to the road itself or contribute to the comfort and happi¬ 
ness of those passing over it, which is, to be sure, a question of 
some economic advantage, and therefore has a value beyond the 
purely aesthetic. 

Roads themselves have grown with the growth and wealth 
of population, and have usually kept pace with such growth, and, 
as the leisure and financial ability of communities increased, as 
well as the opportunities for improving their roadsides, the im¬ 
provement of the roads and the beautification of the roadside sur¬ 
roundings became a sought-for consummation, and, as civilization 
increased, a practical interest. 

In this way it may readily be seen that, where population has 
concentrated for economic reasons, there has gradually grown up 
the desire for aesthetic effects, as is shown in the creation of parks 
and public reservations for the enjoyment of the people at large. 

For the same reasons the ornamentation of roadsides, extending 
gradually into the country from larger cities and towns, has de¬ 
veloped and grown with the wealth of the people themselves; so 
that, as we look at it now in America, one of the considerations 
that is brought prominently to our attention, after building the best 
road that we know how, is the planting of roadside trees and other 
ornamental growths, and the erection of walls and fences that are 
no longer unsightly, but which will contribute to the beauty of the 
landscape and the unconscious advantage of those traveling over 
the road. This has now become so universally accepted that it 
cannot be ignored, even if those persons who are wholly practical 
consider it an unnecessary expenditure of money. 

The development of this aspect has, of course, been different in 
Europe than in America, for there it has been so long and so grad¬ 
ual in its advance that it has attained in most of the civilized coun¬ 
tries of Europe a finished result. There the roadside trees have 
been under intelligent care for generations, and produce on the 
mind of the traveler the most pleasing and salutary effect, even to 
those so ignorant that they cannot appreciate the reason therefor. 

In France, and in other parts of the continent of Europe, like 
the people themselves, the results have been largely of a formal 
or artificial character. In England, nature has been followed more 
closely, so that you get two methods of beautifying public reser¬ 
vations and the space between the traveled way and the fields of 
abutting landowners, which have grown by degrees from primitive 
conditions to the present artistic state. 

In America we have the advantage of both these methods work¬ 
ed out for our consideration, on which we can improve, but which 
do not give us immediately the results of trees of great size, or 
the finished appearance which comes through time alone. 

To those of you who have driven horses or automobiles over the 
ancient highways of Europe, it must be painfully apparent that in 
comparison America suffers, notwithstanding the fact that in our 
older communities we have been striving for years to do in a 


156 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


shorter time what has there required many generations of careful 
work and study. 

In almost all of the larger cities of the East in America very 
large sums of money have been spent in the acquisition of land 
and the planting of trees and shrubs which will thrive in their 
respective localities, and in the careful treatment of roadside con¬ 
ditions for many years, and the results of these intelligent efforts 
have been to make such cities more attractive to visitors and more 
liveable to the inhabitants. It makes the conditions of life more 
healthful, and has a tendency to improve the people themselves. 

The city of Boston, in Massachusetts, has expended over ten 
million dollars within the last twenty years in creating a park 
system for the use and at the expense of the metropolitan district, 
which, by the care that has been taken in its development, has be¬ 
come one of the most attractive and charming of any in the world; 
and this same theory has been adopted in many, if not all, of the 
larger cities, to a greater or less extent paid for out -of the public 
purse; so that, as I intimated in the first of this paper, so great has 
the insistence of the public become, that in the treating of public 
ways or reservations the question of beauty, as it is manifested 
through the efforts of trained and skilful men, has become a prac¬ 
tical necessity, and the public is entirely willing to take upon it¬ 
self the cost, however great, of such work. 

What is true of the parks and other public reservations is true, 
to a greater or less extent, of the roadsides themselves. It is the 
custom almost everywhere to plant trees along the sides of roads, 
wherever practicable, and to save the natural growth on a new 
road. Wherever the road itself is improved, it is noticeable that 
the landowners living along its borders instinctively improve the 
appearance of their possessions in proportion to the care that is 
expended upon the road and its immediate surroundings. 

In Massachusetts, where the commonwealth builds and main¬ 
tains its main lines of travel, and takes care of its roadsides, it is 
observed that farms and homes, previously deserted for years, are 
taken up, rebuilt, and beautified everywhere along the borders of 
the road. No deserted farms can be found along state highways in 
Massachusetts. This, in itself, is an argument sufficient for the 
expenditure of such additional sums as may be necessary for im¬ 
proving the roadsides, as well as the roadway. 

The Highway Commission of Massachusetts is required, under 
the law, to plant useful and ornamental trees along the borders 
of highways which have been made state roads. In order to do 
this intelligently and with the best results, the Highway Commis¬ 
sion has employed a trained forester, and it has also established 
a nursery, in which are cultivated trees and shrubs which are suit¬ 
ed to all the climatic and physical conditions throughout the com¬ 
monwealth. These trees are planted in locations suited to their 
character and kind, and are cared for under the direction of the 
forester, so as to attain their most complete and characteristic 
growth. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


157 


Where, in the course of the construction of state highways, it is 
necessa.ry to make cuts through hills or embankments over low 
ground, it is the practice of the Commission to protect and beautify 
these cuts or fills by the planting of vines or shrubs which conceal 
their nakedness and prevent their disintegration. The work of 
the Commission along these lines has produced its effect upon the 
minds of those living along the roads, so that the ambition of the 
people to make their places more attractive, by the building of 
more or less ornamental fences, the removal of unsightly accumula¬ 
tions, and the general well-being of their homes, has been aroused, 
and the result is encouraging and satisfactory. 

It is also to be considered that trees and shrubs planted along 
the roadsides protect and prolong the life of the roads, and the 
planting or preservation of low-growing shrubs or bushes prevents 
the action of winds in drying up and removing the surface of the 
roadway, which otherwise would lead to destruction. 

It is very plain that, where roadways are shaded by trees, horses 
will draw greater loads for greater distances, and that, therefore, 
more may be accomplished than under other circumstances. 

You will, of course, appreciate that in a paper such as this is it 
is impossible to enlarge upon the method of planting trees or other 
plants, how it should be done, or what kinds of trees should be 
used. Your conditions in Washington are so different from ours 
in the East that what would apply here would be wholly or largely 
inapplicable there. 

It is usual with us, for example, to set out rock maples on the 
uplands which are exposed to severe winds or extreme climatic 
variations; white, red, or pin oaks on less exposed hillsides in gra¬ 
velly soils ; white, red, or pitch pines in sandy soils, unprotected 
from the sun’s rays; elms on fertile bottom lands; and white maples 
and willows in swampy reaches. Chestnuts have not been used 
to any extent for planting, though they become with care very 
large and handsome trees. They are, _ however, protected when 
found growing naturally by the roadside. Other trees, such as 
poplar, ash, sycamore, locust, etc., are suited to certain locations, 
but are not planted by us to any very great extent. 

A great variety of ^native shrubs, such as cornus dogwood, lilac, 
etc., are used to give a picturesque effect, or as wind breaks in 
exposed places. Such vines as blackberry, upland cranberry, low- 
growing sumach, etc., are planted on slopes and banks to protect 
them from disintegration, and to cover the raw appearance of new 
work. All these means can well be adopted to beautify and im¬ 
prove the sides of roads, and, from my experience, are well worth 
the outlay from any point of view. 

DISCUSSION. 

Mr. Samuel Hill: With reference to what Mr. Parker has said 
about abandoned farms, I believe, Mr. Parker, your Commission 
authorized me to state that in Massachusetts, where stone improved 


158 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


highways had been placed, after careful investigation you found 
an increase on every 150-acre farm in the annual rental value of 
approximately $200. That is a startling statement, showing the 
increased value from improved highways. 

Questioner: If there is one question more than another in this 
country and Canada, it is the fact of the people leaving the farm. 
I would like to know if the fact of the improving of the roads under 
the State Commission of Massachusetts has had the effect of bring¬ 
ing back to the soil those who had previously left it. 

Mr. Parker: I would say in response to that question that the 
building of state roads and the improvement of the highways in 
Massachusetts has had the effect, not only of bringing back prac¬ 
tical farmers, but to bring back to their old homes men who had 
been away and made a fortune in other businesses. I could name 
to you hundreds of such instances, and that where I have known 
deserted farms to exist as long as I can remember that now not one 
can be found on a state road. That is an economic question of 
value to you all, and should be considered. 

An Inquirer : I would like to ask if the building of the highways 
has not decreased taxation greatly in comparison to real valuation. 
I mean that the improvements have so increased the valuation that 
they have lessened the taxes in proportion. 

Mr. Parker: I think that is absolutely true; because in most 
cases the increase in the taxation is nothing, while the increase in 
valuation is very often double or trebled within my recollection by 
the building of these roads. 

An Inquirer: Then virtually these roads do not cost a red cent? 

Mr. Parker: We consider they do not cost a cent, but increase 
the value of the commonwealth materially every year. No move¬ 
ment that we have had in Massachusetts has been so popular as 
that of state roads, and I believe any amount of money that might 
be asked‘for would be given to the Commission without reserva¬ 
tion. I mean by that that the commonwealth has an established 
principle of spending so much a year on state roads, and we as a 
rule do not believe in increasing that, but think we can spend from 
half a million to a million dollars a year more economically than a 
larger amount. However, whenever a special appropriation is 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


159 


asked of the Legislature for a state road, I may say it has never 
been refused, and I may say that the Highway Commission of 
Massachusetts has now been in existence long enough to have 
trained its men thoroughly, and has received the confidence of the 
community to such an extent that, if towns and in many cases 
cities desire to spend money on highways, the money will be ap¬ 
propriated, but only under the condition that it is spent under the 
direction and with the approval of the Highway Commission, 
mention that as a comment on the result of this sort of work. 

An Inquirer: Do you take charge of the parks? 

Mr. Parker: No; not under our Highway Law. 

An Inquirer: Is it not true that before you built those roads 
you had a bureau of abandoned farms? 

Mr. Parker: I believe it was so. 

Mr. F. N. Godfrey: I would like to say a little about the condi¬ 
tions in our state. The beautifying of the country roads in New 
York has added a great deal to the value of the farms. The farmer 
who plants trees in New York state is allowed a certain amount 
from his road tax. I believe it is 25 cents a tree, so that it has 
been an inducement to the people to plant trees. One word in re¬ 
gard to the statement that Mr. Parker has made in regard to his 
system. While Massachusetts is somewhat of a small state com¬ 
pared to New York, we have felt that it was wise to adopt their 
system of road making and road work in the appointment of a com¬ 
mission and the supervision of the roads by the commission. 


PROFESSOR LANCASTER’S PAPER ON “BOULEVARDS” 
TO BE PRINTED. 

In consequence of lack of time it was resolved that Professor 
Lancaster’s paper on “Boulevards” should be printed in the Report 
without being read. 

Mr. M. O. Eldredge: Mr. Thomson called attention to the 
Gladwell system of road building. We have in the Government 
Building a minature model showing exactly how the Gladwell road 
is built. We also have other roads showing methods of using tar 
in road building, showing tarmacadam etc.; in fact, we have all 


160 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


the standard types of road construction, and I invite every one to 
come to the Government Building and make an inspection of these 
roads, and I will be glad to go with you. 

Hon. C. H. Hanford: I would like to ask a question, with ref¬ 
erence to the paper under discussion previous to the last, as to 
whether on our sea level, where there seems to be such a mixture 
of sand and pebbles, where a road could be made along the sea¬ 
shore, about the application of this tar by machine. For instance, 
between here and Tacoma, along the shore, could we get a roadbed 
by that system? 

Mr. R. H. Thomson: You cannot make a roadbed with such un¬ 
even sizes as you refer to. Coarse sand would make a good road, 
but not with sand mixed with pebbles. 


PRESENTATION TO MR. SAMUEL HILL. 

Hon. C. H. Hanford: This forenoon this body voted to have in 
the records of this Congress an expression of appreciation of the 
very valuable services of Mr. Samuel Hill in advocating and work¬ 
ing as he has in promoting the general welfare as affected by the 
public highways, and the committee appointed presents for adop¬ 
tion, if approved, the following resolutions. I would say that 
these resolutions, if adopted, are to be in the record of the Asso¬ 
ciation as an expression of this body. Mr. Godfrey and Mr. Ter¬ 
race, representing the Grangers and farmers, will have something 
by way of supplement to this report after I have read it: 

RESOLUTIONS. 

Resolved, by the First Congress of American Road Builders, that 
in Mr. Samuel Hill, President of the Washington State Good Roads 
Association, we recognize a leader whose wise, energetic, and con¬ 
stant efforts in promoting the common welfare as affected by the 
improvement of public highways command our highest admiration. 
Sparing neither time nor money, with voice and pen, Mr. Hill has 
given an impetus* to a general movement for better roads in all the 
states of the American Union and the provinces of Canada, which 
must inevitably produce benefits important and lasting. 

Resolved, that the thanks of this Congress are due to him, and are 
hereby expressed, for the many courteous attentions which Mr. Hill 
has bestowed, and which the members of this association will re¬ 
member with keen appreciation. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


161 


Mr. Terrace and Mr. Godfrey, on behalf of the Association, then 
presented Mr. Hill with a handsome mounted cane amid loud ap¬ 
plause. 

Mr. Terrace said: 

You are now going to receive proper treatment. We, farmers of 
the Pacific Coast, present you with this cane. May it stand in the 
rack for the next forty years. May you have no need to use it; but, 
every time you look upon this cane, may it encourage you to think 
that every farmer and his family look upon you as their great bene¬ 
factor in the benefits of good roads. (Applause.) 

Mr. F. N. Godfrey, of New York, said: 

And, in behalf of the people of the Eastern part of this country, 
and especially the farmers and Grange of New York, I wish to 
express to you, in the giving of this beautiful token of respect from 
the delegates at this convention, their thanks and the thanks of the 
people of the East in what you have done towards the building up 
of this great industry and the furnishing to the people of the coun¬ 
try a method of transportation which will aid the farmers in get¬ 
ting in closer touch with the people in the city. There should be 
no gulf between the country and the city (cheers), and I believe 
that the efforts you are making are a great step in this direction. 

I believe that the time will come when the country and the city will 
be one. (Cheers.) 

Mr. Samuel Hill, who was received with loud applause and was 
visibly affected, said: 

I am afraid I am going to have to use this cane before I sit down. 
It has been a good many years since I have seen a cane in the hands 
of the authorities, and I was somewhat embarrassed when they ap¬ 
proached. I also remembered that perhaps my declining years 
attracted their attention, and they thought that something was nec¬ 
essary for my support. But there is something necessary for my 
support, and that is the cordial co-operation and sympathy of you 
all, and that I have had. It has been more than a duty, it has been 
a pleasure, to work in this movement. The first thought that I had I 
when I began it w as for the man that lived on the soil , and it has! 
not been out of my mind since! If T should tell you the pleasure I * 
have had in associating with men like Judge Hanford, Mr. Lan¬ 
caster, Mr. Thomson, Mr. Landes, and others I could name, you 
would think everything was worth while to be with these men and 
to have their confidence. I told Mr. Parker and Mr. Hooley and 
the other distinguished men who have come here; in New York 
I told Mr. Godfrey, Mr. Richardson, and Mr. Powers of the char¬ 
acter of the citizenship of this state—that, while we had great pos¬ 
sibilities and great assets in the wealth of the state, the best thing 



162 MODERN ROAD BUILDING 

l 

we had was in the character of the men that composed the citizen¬ 
ship of this state. I cannot turn in any direction but what I find 
men who have aided in this work. There are some men who have 
not done much talking, like Mr. Cheasty, Mr. Chamberlain, and a 
great many others; but I want to say to you all that the only rea¬ 
son we are going to have here in our own state the nucleus of a 
movement which is being nursed and developed all over the United 
States and all over Canada, our near neighbor, by the men who are 
here to-day and other men who sympathize but could not come, is 
because of the genius and spirit of the people on this continent, who 
do not wait always for governmental help or aid, but who try to 
help themselves; and when the State Commission gave us here this 
building for this purpose, and when the wise Board of Regents 
established in this University a chair of Highway Engineering, a 
step was taken forward. Once they tried to build roads by 
enforced labor; then they tried to build them for military pur¬ 
poses ; but what the American people are trying to do to-day is to 
build roads on sentiment and for commercial reasons—to build 
roads so that they will help every part of the United States and 
Canada, all the people of both countries. 

I cannot tell you how pleased I was that all these men laid aside 
their duties, and they are all busy men, and came here; how 
pleased I was that the Governor of every state and every province 
on this continent wrote letters and sent accredited delegates. It 
has, indeed, been a great pleasure, and the results of this conven¬ 
tion, I think—I know—will be lasting. 

I am very glad to be here. I am very much touched. (Loud 
applause.) 

RESOLUTIONS. 

It was moved, seconded, and unanimously carried: That a vote 
of thanks be tendered to the gentlemen who had made addresses 
and read able papers before the Convention. 

It was moved by Mr. E. L. Powers, seconded, and unanimously 
carried: ThAt the thanks of the delegates to the Washington State 
Commission be tendered for the courtesies extended to this Con¬ 
gress. 


PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 

Mr. E. L. Powers: 

It has been suggested that a permanent organization should be 
formed, and as the time is too short to consider the matter here at 
this meeting, I will offer a resolution that a committee of not less 
than nine be appointed by the chair to consider the matter of per- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


163 


manent organization and report some time between now and to¬ 
morrow before final adjournment. 

Mr. F. N. Godfrey: I will second that. 

Judge Hanford: 

I think it would be difficult to make a comprehensive report as 
soon as to-morrow, and I would move, in amendment: That the 
committee be authorized to take suitable action to perfect perma¬ 
nent organization, and at its discretion to call a meeting of dele¬ 
gates from all the. states and provinces represented here. 

The mover and seconder of the motion accepted the amendment, 
which was accordingly put to the meeting and carried. 

It was moved, seconded, and carried by a rising vote that Mr. 
Samuel Hill should be the president of the permanent organization. 

The following committee on permanent organization was then 
appointed by the chair: 

E. L. Powers, Chairman, 

R. H. Thomson, 

F. N. Godfrey, 

A. W. Campbell, 

Clifford Richardson, 

Samuel Hill, 

J. C. Lawrence, 

A. N. Johnson, 

Harold Parker. 

Mr. W. B. George of Montana: 

We have in our state the great National Park, and we appreciate 
the fact that men have come here to Seattle from all parts of the 
world, and that the state'of Washington has set an example for all 
other Western states, and we want to come and visit you, and are 
ready to come. This question of the improvement of the roads is 
growing, and I think we should get the information which we have 
obtained here to the people. Every organization that is making 
machinery for roads, every automobile club, every member of Con¬ 
gress, and every one interested in the government of each state, 
every paper should be distributed throughout the country, and the 
people should become aware of the fact that this question of road 
improvement is the great enlightening question of this country, 
because it will make the farmer’s land double and treble its present 
value. I have in a small way prepared a road which has caused' the 
land to increase 400 per cent., and I will tell you that I appreciate 
the fact that the good roads will bring the boys from the farm into 
the church and school, and will develop the brains of the rising 
generation. I was talking to a lady to-day in Seattle, and she said: 
“The road question is a great question.” Every farmer appreciates 
M.R.B.—12 


164 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


that. We want to put into this thing the enthusiasm of our money. 
Let us make the coming Congress the greatest ever held. Look at 
irrigation. I want to say I secured this for Billings. We adver¬ 
tised six months ahead. We have got half a dozen stenographers 
and newspaper writers at work, and will make it as big as any Dry 
Congress held in the country. 

Mr. Hill has been doing world-wide philanthropic work. He has 
been giving up something to make things better than when he came 
here. I want to leave the country I live in better than when I came 
into it. That is the spirit that is making the West. Progress is 
catching. A man cannot come and see them tearing down, the hills 
and making roads, (for it is phenomenal what they are doing here) 
without being greatly impressed. I would not doubt to see a million 
people here in Seattle in a very short time. 

Coming to this Congress has been an education in itself, and we 
want in some way to get this information before the people, edu¬ 
cating the people in this, with a view to making it world-wide and 
interesting all in this great movement. 

Professor Lancaster: 

I know it is the intention of Mr. Hill to have the full proceedings, 
together with all papers', printed. There are a good many papers 
which have not been read, from the fact that we did hot have the 
time, and these papers, many of them most excellent papers, will 
be printed along with the proceedings. I think it is Mr. Hill’s 
intention to have each official delegate presented with a copy, and 
also to print other reports which can be had for practically the cost 
of* printing. I think that is his purpose as nearly as I am able to 
inform you. 

Convict Labor. 

As Washington State has been referred to as utilizing convict 
labor, it would doubtless be interesting for you to know how it was 
brought about. 

I think three years ago the subject was first broached, as I 
remember it, when it was spoken of at our state meeting at 
Yakima, and the committee retired and discussed the question as 
to whether or not it should be printed, because they feared, when 
it was spoken of, that the labor unions would oppose it; but we 
decided to press forward and present the question fairly to the peo¬ 
ple of the state, and it was mentioned often in our road meetings, 
and it was finally decided to take thirty men out of the penitentiary 
and carry them into a central part of the state. The men Atfere 
selected at random, and we built a temporary stockade, and put the 
men in, and worked them without shackles. The men were worked 
in building a road where they used dynamite, blasting the rock and 
doing such work as hard labor would do. They saved the state a 
little more than $5,000 in building three-quarters of a mile of road, 
and the result was we took photographs of these men and.used 
them before the Legislature, and secured from the Legislature 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


165 


$124,000 for putting in four large rock crushing plants. Machinery 
for the four plants has been purchased, and we are using the best kind 
of engine, and when these four plants are in, as they will be, we will 
have the largest plant for supplying rock of any state in the Union, 
even ahead of what Illionis is doing, and crushing 1,500 cubic yards 
a day with prison labor. 


PRINTING PROCEEDINGS. 

Judge Hanford: 

The subject of the publication and distribution of the record of 
this Congress is an important one, and should be treated in a prac¬ 
tical way. I believe it is practicable to find ways and means of 
meeting the cost of publication, and, instead of having simply a 
copy for each delegate here, to have them printed in a way that 
they can be handled and get into the hands of the many people who 
will appreciate them. 

I move that a committee of three be appointed by the chair on 
the publication of the reports of this Congress, to devise ways and 
means for meeting the cost, and to superintend the publication and 
distribution of the reports of the Congress, including the papers 
read and the discussions. 

The motion was seconded and unanimously adopted, and the 
following committee was appointed by the chairman: 

Samuel Hill, Chairman, 

Hon. C. H. Hanford, 

R. H. Thomson. 


ADJOURNMENT. 

The Congress then concluded their Seattle sessions, and on Wed¬ 
nesday night the delegates to the Good Roads Convention made a 
trip to Victoria, B. C., as the guests of Mr. Samuel Hill. Leaving 
Seattle about midnight, they reached Victoria in the early morn¬ 
ing, and proceeded to the Empress Hotel, where luncheon was par¬ 
taken of. Mr. Hill had made arrangements for a tally-ho ride 
round the city and through the parks; but Hon. Richard McBride, 
Premier of British Columbia, with his natural courtesy, insisted on 
providing automobiles for the entire party. After viewing the 
many beauties of Victoria, the return trip was made to Seattle at 
4 o’clock in the afternoon ; dinner being served on board. 

The final business of the Congress was done on this trip; the 
most important feature being the appointment of a president, vice 


166 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


president, and secretary of the permanent organization. It was 
unanimously resolved that Samuel Hill, Hon. James H> MacDon¬ 
ald, and E. L. Powers should be president, vice president, and sec¬ 
retary, respectively, and the committee of nine members which was 
appointed in Seattle was elected a permanent executive commit¬ 
tee, of which Mr. Samuel Hill should be chairman. 

It was also moved that President Hill should appoint a subcom¬ 
mittee of three to formulate a plan of permanent organization, 
to name the organization, and to draft a constitution and by-laws, 
to be submitted to the executive committee. This committee was 
nominated by the President as follows: E. L. Powers, of New 
York, Chairman; A. W. Campbell, of Toronto, Ontario; and J. N. 
Godfrey, of New York. 

The following resolutions were unanimously adopted by the Con¬ 
gress. 

That a vote of thanks be tendered to Premier McBride, of Brit¬ 
ish Columbia, for the courtesies extended to the members of the 
Congress while in Victoria. 

That a vote of thanks be tendered to the King County Good 
Roads Association for the courtesies extended to the delegates, and 
also to the press of Seattle for the way in which they reported and 
handled the Congress, and for the treatment which the delegates 
received at their hands. 

The arrangement of the time and place at which the next meet¬ 
ing should be held was left in the hands of the Executive Commit¬ 
tee. 

The First Annual Congress of American Road Builders then ad¬ 
journed after a most successful convention. 


APPENDIX 


[The following Papers are here printed as a part of the foregoing 
Proceedings.] 


ORGANIZATION FOR CONSTRUCTION OF WAGON 

ROADS. 

By Jno. F. Stevens. 

Syllabus. 

Organization—relation to the work. 

Organization—for wagon roads, compared with railroad. 
Organization—properly defined. 

Relation of working force to finances. 

Necessity for purely business methods. 

Natural division of the work 
Difficulty of getting experienced men. 

Necessity for best possible supervision. 

Outline of a typical organization. 

Necessity for strong executive head. 

Characteristics such head should possess. 

Roster of suggested organization. 

Description of general duties of officers. 

Great importance of proper care of laboring force. 

Size and detail of organization to depend on amount and character 
of work. 

Probability of Commission. 

General remarks. 


Organization for Construction. 

Organization is the keynote which must be struck, to insure the 
successful execution of any construction project which involves the 
expenditure of a large sum of money, and is second to no other fac¬ 
tor, even that of finance, in determining the final results. It is gen¬ 
erally easier to provide money to cover the cost of a legitimate 
undertaking than it is to properly supervise its expenditure, and to 
be certain that none of it is wasted by careless and inefficient 
methods, or lost through intentional dishonesty. The stockholder, 
whether the state or a private individual, in communal or corporate 
association, has the legal and moral right to know that, as far as 
human skill can provide, the finished work, as turned over to him 
as its owner, represents every dollar which has been advanced by 
him, and is the same in total amount of property, simply trans- 
M.R.B. (167) 




168 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


muted into a different form, through the alchemy of brains and 
energy. 

The organization of executive, supervising, and laboring forces 
to build wagon roads, especially in states or communities where no 
systematic efforts for such ends have ever existed, is, in some 
respects, more difficult of accomplishment than to create an organ¬ 
ization for the construction of other large works, notably railroads. 
In the case of the latter, there is generally a parent company, a 
going concern, with its existing force of experienced engineers and 
technical, practical experts, which by expansion, modification, and 
some minor changes can readily be made into a trained, efficient 
machine, every component part of which is fitted for the particular 
duty to which it may be assigned; so that the too often costly con¬ 
tingency of “learning at the company’s expense” is largely elim¬ 
inated, and the work can proceed with economy and dispatch. 

An organization, as commonly defined, is a plan which aims to 
bring into systematic connection and co-operation the separate 
parts of the whole. A true organization, in the sense of and for the 
purposes under discussion, covers wide ground, and possesses deep 
meaning. It means a machine, through the perfect operation of 
which the two great governing factors in the execution of work, 
authority and responsibility , can be defined and exactly located; for, 
without such efficiency, organization, as is too often the case, will 
be only an empty word. 

In considering the creation of an organization suitable for hand¬ 
ling the construction of state roads, it is fair to assume that the 
work is to be taken up as construction, and that the necessary finan¬ 
cing has been done, and that the requisite funds will be in hand to 
meet current expenditures. In other words, the relation of the con¬ 
structing forces to the financial part of the enterprise will be to 
supervise the expenditure of the funds and to properly account for 
the same. While the work of the financier and that of the engineer 
is generally considered to be entirely different in character, it is 
very true that they are closely allied, and that, as a matter of fact, 
each need and must have the intelligent co-operation of the other, 
to make a success of the work as a whole. 

When a community, or a state, goes into the business of road 
making, it should place itself on exactly the same basis as a private 
firm or corporation undertaking similar work, if it expects econom¬ 
ical results. 

Every consideration, excepting the single one of strict business 
procedure, should be eliminated. Politics, temporary expedience, 
and local prejudice towards either sections or individuals should 
have no place in the organization or in the plans for the work. The 
only qualifications of the personnel of the force should be those of 
technical and business ability, coupled with strict integrity and 
honesty of purpose. 

The actual work of road construction naturally divides itself into 
two parts—the purely technical, and the commercial or business. 
The former should be supervised and executed only by trained 
experts, naturally civil engineers; and this part is usually by far 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


169 


the easier of the two. The locating of the lines of the road, gov¬ 
erned, of course, by the controlling conditions in each case, the fix¬ 
ing of the standards, and the designing of the separate structures 
which go to make up the complete whole, is a comparatively simple 
matter, but one in which only trained judgment and experience 
should be employed. _—c* 

The chief difficulty will be in finding men who have a practical I 
knowledge of the other branch of the work. We have lagged so far J 
behind in the matter of scientific road making, it is doubtful if in I 
all the United States there are ten men who can truthfully be said \ 
to know in every detail how to build a piece of thoroughly first- ] 
class wagon road. This is a broad statement, and may be chal- i 
lenged; but it is the candid belief of the writer that it is not far I 
from the truth. Our conception of what constitutes good roads is 
lamentably deficient. But no class of men on earth are more 
ble of intelligent expansion in ideas and knowledge than are our 
American civil engineers; so that, as conditions arise and -crises 
develop, we can feel assured the right men will come forward to 
meet them. 

The execution of the thousand and one details, every one of 
which should be under the eye of thoroughly competent business 
and executive superintendents, is a matter of all importance. It is 
not enough to know what a gang of laborers are receiving for a 
day’s work, or that they are being employed the agreed hours. The 
party in direct charge must know personally, that their efforts are 
being intelligently put forth, that there is no lost motion, and that 
the state is getting as near 100 cents as possible for every dollar it 
is putting out, and this he can only know excepting as he has prac¬ 
tical experience and possesses that rarest of all faculties, good com¬ 
mon sense. 

And this very careful supervision must run clear through from 
bottom to top, from the lowest gang foreman to the Chief Engineer 
or the supreme head. The complete whole will be no better or 
worse than have been the separate details, and it should be borne 
always in mind that no money is more wisely expended than for 
ample, intelligent supervision. And here is where officials of com¬ 
munities or states are liable to fall into error, through lack of ex¬ 
perience and a possible feeling that ignorant adverse public criticism 
will follow. A railway company knows that to secure the best pos¬ 
sible supervising talent, and to pay well for the same, is a wise pol¬ 
icy. The state must recognize the same truth, and act accordingly, 
or results will not justify expenditures, and only disappointment 
will be the outcome. The days of miracles have passed, and it is not 
humanly possible that the conduct of a great and important work— 
one involving such a Aiultiplicity of details, and on which the fierce 
light of criticism is sure to beat strongly—can be successfully car¬ 
ried out without throwing every safeguard around it that time and 
experience have proven to be necessary. 

The amount, character, distribution, and general conditions will, 
of course, necessarily modify in size and detail the organization and 
methods best fitted" to carry out any piece of construction work. 


170 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


Still the same general principle should run through each, and the 
effort should be, as noted above, to locate authority and respon¬ 
sibility. Below the writer has outlined a skeleton organization, 
which may be contracted to cover a small undertaking, or expanded 
to almost any extent necessary to cover a very large one. The 
main points to be considered are simplicity and directness. 

It is based on the theory that much, if not all, of the actual work 
of road construction will be done by what is generally called “day- 
labor” ; that is, the state will deal directly, through its engineers 
and agents, with the actual laboring force, instead of committing 
the execution of the work to contractors, either by unit prices or 
by lump sum, either by mile, section, or as an entirety. Whether 
such a course is wisest does not enter into the particular phase of 
the question under consideration, and such question can only be 
decided in each individual case, when all the factors are fully devel¬ 
oped and considered. 

To premise: There should be a strong executive head, with 
power vested in it (or him) to plan, direct, and execute, to the 
extent of and under the law, all work, in general and detail, which 
is provided shall be done by such law, and its (or his) authority 
should be subordinate to no one, excepting the duly constituted 
executive head of the state. Whether this power be a Chief Engi¬ 
neer or a Commission is a debatable question. Personally the 
writer, from his experience, and perhaps somewhat from his train¬ 
ing, believes in the one-man power, and that power the Chief 
Engineer. 

Such a man should be big enough, in every sense of the word, to 
initiate and supervise, not only the technical features involved in 
the project, but also to ably direct the general business details; in 
other words, he should be, not only a capable road engineer, but 
also a first-class business man. He is the man who, more than all 
others, will be held responsible for results, and he should not be 
hampered by any attempted division of authority. There are such 
men, and they can be had by paying the price, and they are a good 
bargain. 

A roster of the officers and agents of such an organization would 
appear about as follows: 

Chief Engineer, 

Chief Clerk, 

Accountant, 

Paymaster, 

Purchasing Agent, 

Draftsman, 

Principal Assistant Engineer, 

Resident Engineer, 

Assistant Engineer, 

Instrument Men, 

Inspectors, 

General Foreman, 

District Foremen, 

Gang Foremen. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


171 


To ex pl a in: To the Chief Engineer, as the responsible head, 
would report directly: A Chief Clerk, who would have charge of 
all clerical matters, and who would be the right hand of the Chief 
Engineer, in all office and outside detailed matters not covered by 
other enumerated officials. All bills, pay rolls, vouchers, etc., orig¬ 
inating on any part of the work, would pass through his hands 
before going to the Chief Engineer for his final action. He would 
be provided with such clerical help as from time to time might be 
found necessary. 

The Accountant would examine and check, not only from a cler¬ 
ical, but also from a legal, point of view, all accounts, rolls, or 
vouchers calling for the disbursement of funds, and his approval 
would be necessary before any funds could be disbursed. He 
should have a thorough knowledge of the workings of the State 
Auditor’s office, so that all construction accounts would be properly 
distributed, in order to harmonize them with the general features 
of the state’s bookkeeping. 

The duties of the Paymaster would be, as the title indicates: He 
should, either directly or through his subordinates, disburse all 
funds, but only on duly approved rolls, vouchers, or other proper 
form of indebtedness. He should, of course, as well as all his men 
handling cash or its equivalent, be under approved surety bond. 

The Purchasing Agent would buy all material used in road mak¬ 
ing proper, also all commissary outfit or miscellaneous supplies 
needed in any department, and such purchases only be made upon 
regular requisitions ,duly approved by the proper officer, and such 
requisitions should, excepting in cases of extreme emergency, go 
through the Chief Engineer’s office. He would also check, for 
amounts and prices, all bids and invoices up to the Chief Engineer. 

The Draftsman would, under the supervision of the Chief Engi¬ 
neer, prepare all final maps and profiles, all standard plans of struc¬ 
tures, and would, as far as practicable, be the custodian of all orig¬ 
inal notes of surveys, cross-sections, or other data relative to the 
engineering features of the work, indexing and classifying same in 
proper shape for ready reference, and also to turn over as a part of 
the state records, on the completion of the work. 

The Principal Assistant Engineer would be the right-hand man 
of the Chief Engineer in all engineering and outside work, and 
should be second only to him in ability, experience, and capacity, 
and, as nearly as possible, should be qualified to act in place of the 
Chief Engineer,, in case of the latter’s absence or incapacity, from 
any cause. He should have direct and absolute authority over the 
Resident Engineers, and, through them, over all subordinate engi¬ 
neers and other assistants, down to the lowest Gang Foreman. 

Practically all of his time should be spent in the field, directing, 
guiding, and advising, not only as to the general, but as to detailed, 
features of the work, whenever and wherever such assistance might 
be needed. He should be provided with ample and proper means 
for transportation, to enable him to quickly and thoroughly keep 
himself in constant touch with every part of the work, and thus, by 


172 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


his knowledge and experience, guide the subordinate engineers, 
who necessarily would be younger and less experienced men, 
through the many and oft-recurring perplexing problems, which 
will continually arise. The value of such a man is inestimable, and 
the moral effect upon the successful progress of the work which 
such an official can produce, as the direct impersonation of the 
Chief Engineer, is incalculable. 

The work, when organized for construction, should be divided 
into sections, of a varying number of miles, according to its char¬ 
acter and importance, over each of which should be placed an As¬ 
sistant Engineer, provided with the necessary Instrument Men, In¬ 
spectors, etc., to enable him at all times to not only give the neces¬ 
sary lines and levels to direct the foreman, but also to keep in close 
touch with every detail as it is being carried out. The General 
Foreman should report directly to the Assistant Engineer, and 
should, of course, have charge of the Gang Foremen. As a rule, 
the sections should be of such minimum lengths that the Assistant 
Engineer can personally visit all parts of each at least every 
other day. 

When the work is of sufficient magnitude, or is so scattered as to 
make the visits of the Principal Assistant Engineer somewhat 
infrequent, a Resident Engineer, having authority and jurisdiction 
over several Assistant Engineers, can be profitably employed, thus 
condensing to a reasonable extent the necessarily detailed work of 
the Principal Assistant, and enabling the latter to devote the requi¬ 
site time to the more important matters. Any of the above-enumer¬ 
ated officers, whose work calls for such assistance, should be pro¬ 
vided with proper clerical force to enable them to keep up with 
their current work from day to day and to make correct returns at 
the stated periods of all reports, time sheets, pay rolls, invoices, 
property accounts, etc. 

One important feature, in carrying out any construction project, 
is the housing and care of the laboring force. The right of the 
laborers to comfortable quarters and proper food is unquestionable; 
but, while admitting this moral and legal view of the case, there is 
a very practical side to it also. There is a homely and true saying 
that an “army moves on its belly”—meaning, of course, that the 
efficiency of a fighting force is proportionate to its commissariat. 
You have got to feed and sleep a man properly, if you expect the 
full measure of his services, whether mental or physical. Except¬ 
ing on large jobs, the Principal Assistant Engineer, by the nature 
of his duties, taking him constantly over the work, can, with the 
assistance of some Inspectors, attend to this too often neglected 
branch of the service. But in the case of extensive construction a 
commissary official, reporting probably to the Chief Engineer, 
through the latter’s Chief Clerk, to attend to the establishing of 
camps, the hiring and overseeing of all stewards, cooks, etc., as well 
as exercising supervision over the character, distribution, prepara¬ 
tion, etc., of all food and camp supplies, will be found both useful 
and economical. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


173 


Now the writer foresees the criticism which will follow the sug¬ 
gestions of an organization as outlined above, as of its being too 
elaborate and expensive, etc. In the first place, as he has expressly 
said, it can be enlarged or contracted to fit the size of the project; 
and, in the second place, attention is specifically called to the abso¬ 
lute necessity for ample supervision, a point which it is desired to 
emphasize particularly. No surer way can be found to waste 
money at the bunghole than to try to save at the spigot of insuffi¬ 
cient oversight by intelligent men of every class and at every stage 
of the work. 

On small works the Chief Engineer could probably dispense with 
a Principal Assistant; the Chief Clerk, or his men, could act as 
Paymaster or Purchasing Agent, or both; and, similarly, other 
consolidations could be made. So, also, in case any considerable 
part of the work is carried out by contract, many of the lower offi¬ 
cials, such as general and gang foremen, timekeepers, etc., would 
become a part of the contractor’s staff, and not of the Chief Engi¬ 
neer’s. But the general principle of localization of authority and 
responsibility should never be lost sight of, as it is the one and all- 
important feature of a successful organization. 

Reverting to the necessity of an all-powerful executive head: It 
is quite probable that, for reasons which seem good, the general 
power to direct the construction of state roads may be vested in a 
duly authorized Commission. Then, in such case, the necessity for 
a competent Chief Engineer is none the less great, only he should 
report to the Chairman of such Commission, instead of directly to 
the executive head of the state. But he should be given full and 
complete authority over all matters of construction, and the Com¬ 
mission should confine its energies to carrying out the general pro¬ 
visions of the law, and not to attempt to interfere with or direct the 
affairs, which can only be properly handled by the one man, whose 
word and decision in all construction matters should be regarded as 
final, and from whose decision there should be no appeal, excepting 
to the law. 

The genius for developing efficient organization is largely inher¬ 
ent in some men, and it is very surprising how simple the most 
complex construction problem becomes in their hands, and how 
smoothly and quietly the machine moves along, when it has been 
designed and built under the watchful eye of the master mind. 
And its efficiency and consequent value is shown no more forcibly 
than by the perfect fitting of each separate part—each officer and 
employe knowing that to him is given certain authority and that 
from him will be expected certain results. This knowledge, com¬ 
bined with the fact—which should be ever kept before his mind— 
that in all matters under his jurisdiction, he is at liberty to, in fact 
that it is his duty to, suggest improvement in methods of conduct¬ 
ing affairs, and that he will receive proper credit for such sugges¬ 
tions, will not only keep the machine running to its full efficiency, 
but will improve its working, until it becomes well-nigh perfect. 
And in no other way, excepting through the workings of a system- 


174 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


atic and well-balanced organization, officered by men carefully 
chosen only with regard to their fitness, can the state be assured of 
that success which is its due, and which it can justly claim, pro¬ 
viding it recognizes that road making is a business matter and acts 
accordingly. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


175 


SUBGRADE PREPARATION. 

By James H. MacDonaed, State Highway Commissioner oe 
Connecticut. 

A well-built road’s chief characteristic is not unlike a well-con¬ 
structed house, at least in one respect. Both will have a similarity, 
namely, a tight roof and a dry cellar. 

Ihe different conditions to be found throughout the United 
States have made it imperative to vary the treatment or method 
employed in the. construction of roads. This is true, not only in 
regard to climatic conditions, where they vary and change many 
times within a few hundred miles, but it is essentially true in 
regard to the different materials with which to construct roads in 
each state. The geological formation, topography, and other con¬ 
ditions force the adoption of widely different materials to be 
employed in the several states. Each, in turn, performs its own 
useful function, and all are made to satisfy that which is required 
of them, be it oil, stone, gravel, sand, limestone, asphalt, or cement 
for the surface of the road. But, no matter of what material the 
road shall be constructed of or with, there must be certain rules 
adhered to and treatment closely followed, without any deviation 
in so far as that which is necessary to furnish a proper foundation 
upon which to place that which is to furnish the wearing surface 
to the road is concerned. 

The utilization of the different materials to be found through¬ 
out the country is one of the most profound questions of the hour. 
The brightest minds of this country are being trained to develop 
to its greatest field of usefulness that material which will lend itself 
a willing and obedient servant to the master road builder’s hand to 
accomplish that which is required of it. , 

No matter how much taste is displayed by the architect in the 
outline or the appointments of your home, no matter how expensive 
the material used in the construction, no matter what taste is dis¬ 
played by the owner in regard to the exterior or interior of the 
building, if the house is not constructed on a proper foundation, all 
of the work of science, and of art, refined taste, and money, is 
wasted. So that the subject-matter I am to treat to-day, in my 
judgment, carries the most essential and important feature in the 
whole science of road building. 

A well-built road must have the ability to sustain and hold up 
into the position it should occupy the wearing surface of the road, 
whether it be two inches or two feet in depth. Any yielding of the 
subgrade will be fatal to the road. The whole question of dust¬ 
laying and road-preservative requirements of the hour is simply 
relegated to a secondary position, when compared with this very 
important feature of the construction, and the remarkable aspect of 
this important part of road building is that it is not so much the 
expense, for the same principle can be adopted in the simple turn- 


176 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


piking of a road as that which will have to be employed in the most 
expensive construction that we are called upon to build to-day. 

In dealing with the different materials that we encounter in the 
improvement of a section of road, the old saying is still true that 
the greatest accomplishment a human mind can achieve,^as we have 
been told by one of the wise men of other days, is to ‘ Know thy¬ 
self,” and to take the material we have had for thousands of years 
in that particular section you and I are familiar with and have 
walked or ridden over ever since we can remember, and, by a scien¬ 
tific treatment of that material, bring to each a devolopment that 
will accomplish that which will utilize the material to the best 
advantage. That is high art, indeed. 

The first principle to follow in every case is to properly drain the 
section of road to be improved, after which you then take up the 
question of subgrade, or foundation, upon which to build your road. 
I have found the best material with which to construct a subgrade 
is sand or gravel. Disintegrated rock, with an admixture of light 
loam, makes a capital subgrade. I have known cotton cloth or 
unbleached muslin to be used on the surface of a sand subgrade. 
These roads have been called calico roads; but this practice has 
been abandoned, and a better process has been resorted to, 

Sprinkling the sand before rolling, using a light roller before 
using the steam roller, or lightening the roller by relieving the 
boiler of one-half its water capacity, is a great assistance in firming 
the road, as the sand will not then creep before the roller, thus mak¬ 
ing the subgrade firm. A little subsoil placed on top of the sand 
is a very good practice. This will prevent the material from being 
pushed ahead of the roller, and it will make a good sustainment for 
the stone or gravel. If something is not done to make a sandy 
foundation firm, it will shift. 

Slighting the subgrade is sometimes practiced by contractors, 
with the result that they do not gain anything, by reason of the 
fact that the contractor has to pay in the end an increased expense, 
owing to the fact that there will be a greater shrinkage in the 
stone. The wise contractor is the man who will spend more time 
with his fifteen cents an hour help in forming the subgrade, and 
thereby require less stone or gravel and other incidental expenses. 
This is often the reason why the tonnage of stone per mile has 
been largely exceeded over the original estimate of the contractor. 
This is very easily demonstrated by taking the cost of the stone 
per ton, with freight, the haul from the cars, the time consumed in 
applying the stone on the road, to say nothing about the expense 
of watering and rolling required to get the road into a perfect 
bond—firm and unyielding. 

But you will ask, naturally, “Is not the road better by reason of 
the fact that more stone has been used?” Not at all. This would 
be true if a uniform depth of stone were on the road. But it is an 
intermittent depth. In some places there may be four inches of 
stone, while in other places there may be eight inches. The influ¬ 
ence of the roller is not uniform where the subgrade is not sufff- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


177 


ciently hard and firm. Wherever there is an intermittent depth of 
stone, the road will develop a weakness, because the pressure of 
the roller on the road has not been uniform. 

A road, in many respects, is similar to a house. If you are build¬ 
ing a house, you must have, not only a good foundation for.the 
house to rest upon, but you must also have a tight roof. And, in 
addition, you must have a dry cellar. If you have a tight roof, and 
do not have a dry cellar, of what earthly use is it to keep the water 
from the outside from getting in, if you have a leaky cellar that will 
let it in below? It is the same in building a road. You must have 
a good, well-built, substantial foundation, as well as a good sur¬ 
face—a roof—to your road. Not enough attention has been paid 
to this question heretofore. Commissioners, and others officially 
employed, have not always been to blame, however, as the power 
behind has brought up the dollar sign, and, to keep peace in the 
family, judgment was set aside and conscience was quieted with 
the hope that it might come out all right—a fond, foolish illusion, 
never realized. I do not believe, and never have believed, that the 
surface of the road can ever become an accomplished fact until 
this all-important and necessary adjunct to a good road—the foun¬ 
dation—is taken care of. 

Antedating the surface must come directness to your road; then, 
the reduction of the grades to a minimum; then, the question of 
drainage. Of all these, the most important is under and surface 
drainage, after which comes the question of surfacing—the least 
important of all things connected with road building. You want 
directness to your road, to' shorten the distance and minimize the 
danger, and to carry the surface water to its nearest and best exit 
point. It is not enough to get the water off and out from the road, 
but it must be gotten away from the road. When we have done 
this, we can commence to properly construct the subgrade, and not 
before. 

Next comes the veneer, or surface, be it of macadam, gravel, dis¬ 
integrated rock, or subsoil. How many miles of splendid looking 
macadam, gravel, and earth roads have, after two or three years’ 
travel, broken down and gone into disrepair through a lack of 
knowledge, carelessness, or neglect to properly treat the subgrade? 

You may say: “That is all very well, Commissioner; but sup¬ 
pose there are developments in the cuts that were not expected. 
What then?” 

Suppose there is, and it is fair to assume, in the light of my own 
and other Commissioners’ experience, that such will be the case, 
and that we find conditions very similar in many improvements 
where unexpected developments occur. 

A very simple precautionary clause in the specifications will meet 
any of these unexpected conditions, by simply stating in the speci¬ 
fications that if, in the process of grading, the contractor finds any 
material that will be liable to heave, yield, or settle, he shall remove 
it and furnish that material which will be competent to sustain the 
stone or gravel and the travel the surface will be called upon to 


178 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


bear; also put in a clause for bids for rubble drain and for Tel¬ 
ford work by the linear foot, or yard. These bids will then fortify 
you against any developments, so that you will not be at the mercy 
of the contractor. In my state specifications I call for bids for 
many things that may not develop, and at the time of asking for the 
bids I do not anticipate being called upon to employ them in the 
construction of the work. It is better, I find, to lock the stable 
before the horse is stolen, rather than afterward. 

I may seem to have taken considerable time in the development 
of this question of subgrade; but it is so inseparably interwoven 
with other essentials that, in taking up the question, I was unable 
to do so specifically, for it is really the link in the chain of the 
whole science of road building, and a chain is no stronger than its 
weakest link, no matter how well built that chain may be. 

As a general proposition, in accomplishing a well-built subgrade, 
it is always well to remove all loam, roots, and vegetable matter 
from the proposed travel part of the road, also everything of a 
springy nature, or anything found in excavating for said roadway 
that will be liable to heave or settle, and fill all such places with 
clean sand or gravel. 

Where it is necessary to fill to bring the subgrade up to the 
height required, I have found in my practice, where the filling 
exceeds one foot in depth, that the filling should be deposited in 
courses not to' exceed twelve inches in depth, loose measurement, 
and require that each course shall be extended across the entire 
fill and completed before commencing another course, no matter 
if the fill be two or twenty feet. And this method should be fol¬ 
lowed with each succeeding course until the established grade is 
reached. The constant traveling over each of the courses by the 
teams employed in handling the material will remove the possi¬ 
bility of ever having a cracked fill, or one that will slide after 
the road has been constructed. This is a very important matter, 
I find, and I have used it in my work in my own state. I also find 
that in the cuts it is well not to plow down below that point that 
is to be the finished grade of the subgrade, but to keep it a suffi¬ 
cient height above that, so that when the roller is placed on the 
work it will make a good solid foundation, and you will not have 
to resort to filling in the cut to bring the subgrade up to the 
grade desired. These two principles of cut and fill will be found to 
work to great advantage in the proper construction of a road. 

The shape, or contour, of the subgrade has been somewhat a mat¬ 
ter of controversy; some engineers holding to the level line foun¬ 
dation, and putting on an extra depth of stone, or material, in the 
center to make the contour, or shed from the center line of the road 
to the berms, or shoulders, while other engineers have given the 
subgrade, or foundation upon which the wearing material is to be 
placed, the same contour as the finished road. I have used this 
latter method in my own work in my state, by reason of the fact I 
believe it makes a better foundation, and that the uniform depth 
of stone at the , shoulders will assist in holding the crown of the 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


179 


road in shape and furnish a sustainment at the shoulder line better 
than to have a less depth of stone at the shoulders and a greater 
depth at the center of the road. It also assists in case of a breaking 
up of the road, or a fracture, or other developments, in draining to 
the side, or shoulder, of the road. 

The forming of the shoulders is a very important matter. They 
are really the support to the road. It has always been my practice, 
when making a shoulder in the fills, to lay out my road and put 
the newly added material ten or twelve inches into the new travel 
path, tamping it down firmly, and then cutting back to the line, 
thereby making a good, firm shoulder to work to, and to hold in 
place the stone or gravel in the travel path of the road. 

It is a difficult matter to treat this question as intelligently 
through the medium of the written word as it would be with charts, 
which it had been my intention to use, had I come in person to the 
convention; but, if these principles are followed in building the 
subgrade, a good foundation upon which to put the wearing sur¬ 
face will result. 

Where a weak foundation—a springy nature of the soil—occurs, 
the material I have described to be used for the subgrade would be 
replaced by a good Telford construction, namely, a stone base; 
but, inasmuch as I am not taking up the general proposition of 
materials and how to use them above the foundation, I will not 
enter into that particular phase of the road building question. 

There are many features about road building that the people of 
our country are unfamiliar- with, and even those who are in au¬ 
thority, and are actively engaged in this work, and are profession¬ 
ally employed in making this great question of scientific road build¬ 
ing their life study, are as yet students in regard to this matter. 
But, notwithstanding this statement is an acknowledged fact, the 
progress made during the last sixteen years in the science of road 
building has been marvelous, and the most remarkable feature 
in the progress of this movement on the part of our country is 
that, while our people have been wedded to old customs and prac¬ 
tices in road building, they are fast coming to acknowledge the 
fact that there is an art and science in the proper construction of a 
road, no matter what the material may be of which a road is con¬ 
structed. The development in the interest of our people during the 
last six years emphasizes this fact in no uncertain way. 

I am very glad at this time and in this way to contribute these 
few suggestions, hoping and trusting that something that I have 
said may be the means of doing some good. 

I also take this opportunity, as I close this little article on sub¬ 
grade treatment, to extend my hearty congratulations to the people 
of the Far West and to the many friends I met on my visit to 
the Pacific Coast nearly two years ago. I hope and trust the con¬ 
vention will result in renewed activity and a greater interest and 
an increased knowledge in this great work we are engaged in, and 
which means so much to the people of our entire country. 

M.R.B.—13 


180 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


ROAD MATERIALS AND SOME SIMPLE RULES FOR 
TESTING THEM. 

By Austin B. Fletcher, M. Am. Soc. C. E., Secretary Massachu- 
setts Highway Commission. 

A great diversity of materials enter into the construction of 
roads of the present day, for in this great country of ours every 
variety of climatic, geologic, and topographic conditions exist. Ma¬ 
terials which might be economically useful in one part of the coun¬ 
try may not be used elsewhere with economy because of excessive 
costs of haulage. An inferior material may often be. useful eco¬ 
nomically because of the great cost of securing a superior materia , 
and in general, without reference to city streets, which do not 
come within the purview of this paper, it may be stated that for 
our common roads we must rely upon materials which are native 
to our own locality. 

This is true when the United States are considered as a whole, 
and it is equally true when the needs of any single state or locality 
are investigated. Uven in so small a state as Massachusetts, with 
its area of only 8,200 square miles, it often happens that an inferior 
local stone must be used, because it is better economy to recon¬ 
struct or resurface more frequently than to pay the cost of trans¬ 
porting the much superior trap rock and with it resurface less 
often. 

Indeed, it sometimes happens that it is better economy to use a 
gravel which admittedly requires attention at relatively short inter¬ 
vals of time than to use local stone in the form of macadam. And 
in some of the Middle States and elsewhere it is found that, by the 
skillful use of the log drag, ordinary loam makes a very good road 
surface during the greater part of the year. 

There is, however, an exception to the general statement made 
above. In many of the states where asphaltic oils are not in¬ 
digenous it seems possible to produce very fair results by combin¬ 
ing such oils with sand and gravel. Reports indicate that much 
work of this sort has been done in California during a period oi 
some years. By reason principally of the relatively small quantity 
of the material which is required, it is possible to transport the oil 
for long distances economically. Massachusetts, geographically, 
is as unfavorably placed as possible as concerns this material; 
but the long haul from the Middle West or from Texas does not 
seem to preclude its use. 

The writer has tried to make it clear that a general discussion 
of all of the materials used for road purposes in the United States 
is difficult, at least from the personal knowledge of an individual, 
and therefore this paper is limited to such materials as he is fa¬ 
miliar with and which are commonly used in Massachusetts. He 
does not pretend to any acquaintance with gumbo, novaculite, as- 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


181 


phaltic rock, etc., which are without doubt very useful materials 
m the localities where they are found. 

The paper may therefore be divided into the following parts: 

1. Sand and Clay. 

2. Gravel. 

3. Rock Suitable for Macadam Purposes. 

4. Bituminous Materials. 

In what follows it should be remembered that the writer is dis¬ 
cussing materials for use on roads having at least a moderate 
amount of traffic. Some statements do not apply to by-roads, or 
ways upon which the traffic is small, and in general main inter¬ 
town roads are referred to. 

Sand and Clay. 

With the single exception of ordinary earth or loam, sand and 
clay in combination is probably the lowest type of material avail¬ 
able for road purposes. 

Without doubt loam should never be so used, with regard to 
economy, if anything better is obtainable at a reasonable cost. 
It is true that by the use of a log drag or road scraper, under the 
direction of trained operators, loam roads may be kept in excellent 
condition during the summer months; but in the spring, with the 
frost coming out and the snow melting, the condition of such roads 
is intolerable. 

Sand, of itself, while at its best in winter and spring, does not 
ever have sufficient stability to sustain traffic over it; and clay, of 
itself, is open to the same or greater objection than loam. 

It is possible, however, to combine sand with clay in such a man¬ 
ner that under moderate traffic and favorable climatic conditions 
a fairly serviceable road may be obtained. But, were a gravel even 
of inferior quality available, a sand-clay road would not be con¬ 
sidered seriously. 

Gravel. 

Gravel, unlike sand, loam, and clay, is not a simple material. 
Indeed, it is usually a mixture of materials—small pebbles, or stone 
fragments, combined with either sand or clay. 

It is very widely distributed throughout the glaciated portion of 
the country. Professor N. S. Shaler has stated that it rarely oc¬ 
curs that gravel cannot be found within any area of ten miles 
square in the glaciated field. 

But gravel suitable for road purposes is not so plentiful as the 
foregoing statement would indicate, since, unless the pebbles are 
combined with the sand or with the clay in proper proportions, the 
gravel, without treatment, may be of little value. 

Probably the best gravel is what is called in some parts of New 
England “blue gravel.” This material is in effect finely broken 
trap rock, which has been subjected to.little or no water action. 
The fragments are angular, the gravel contains little argillaceous 


182 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


matter, and when placed on the road and rolled the fragments lock 
together into a mass having relatively few voids and great stability. 
The deposits of this blue gravel are rare, and the community with 
a bed of such material is to be congratulated. Its road problem 
is not a serious one. 

As between the sandy gravels and the clayey, the choice should 
be usually in favor of the former, unless the clay is in relatively 
small proportion. Too much clay makes a muddy road, and one 
which is easily rutted by traffic. Too much sand, with large peb¬ 
bles, makes a mass with little or no stability, and no amount of 
rolling will compact it. 

For the best results, in general, considering the ordinary gravels, 
the writer believes that all stones which will not pass through a 
two and one-half inch mesh should be screened out; that at least 
50 per cent, by weight should consist of pebbles or fragments which 
will not pass through a one and one-quarter inch mesh; at least 
80 per cent, should not pass through a one-half inch mesh; and 
that the remainder should consist of small fragments of pebbles and 
sand from less than one-half of an inch in diameter to an impalpable 
powder. 

The writer admits that such a gravel is too rarely found; but he 
offers it as an ideal, to be approached as nearly as is possible, al¬ 
ways bearing in mind the economics of the problem. 

A gravel so graded, when properly rolled, has great stability 
in the road. If the pebbles in the gravels are from rocks of a crys¬ 
talline or eruptive nature, as is usually the case in New England, a 
road built of such material will make but little mud under traffic, 
and should not rut to any considerable extent, even when the frost 
is coming out of the ground. 


Rocks. 

In general, the chief desiderata in rocks for road building are 
hardness and toughness, and the writer believes that toughness 
should be written first. It is wholly within the range of possibility 
that in the most modern types of road surfaces, considered econom¬ 
ical for the kind of roads herein contemplated, namely, those in 
which some form of bitumen is used as a binder or matrix, or as a 
wearing coat, stones of somewhat inferior quality may be used 
safely. 

If the road builder has a choice between stones for macadam pur¬ 
poses, and too often he has not, no scientific instruments of preci¬ 
sion are usually required to determine the relative value of the 
stones. The stone hammer and the scratching of one stone with 
the other are all that are necesssary. And it may also be generally 
stated that the rocks having a fine texture are more likely to be 
tough than those having coarse crystals. When there is not an 
excess of motor vehicles in the locality, a smooth-surfaced road will 
be more often secured if ledge rock is used, rather than field boul¬ 
ders. The field stones are usually of glacial origin. The fact that 
they escaped utter demolition in the cataclysmic grindings of the 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


183 


glacial period indicates that they were of the toughest and hardest 
parts of the rocks from which they were separated. But, while 
they may be harder and tougher than the ledge rock in the locality, 
because of lack of uniformity in these characteristics, comparing 
boulder with boulder, the road surface in which they are placed is 
likely to wear less smoothly than if ledge rock is used. 

Under very light traffic, or when motor vehicles predominate, the 
writer believes that a relatively soft rock will often prove to be 
more economical than a relatively hard one; also that under such 
conditions, when a good gravel is obtainable, its use will usually 
prove to be more economical than if the road is built after the mac¬ 
adam type. 

Much has been said and written about the cementing power of 
the fine dust or powder which results from the crushing of stone by 
machinery. The writer believes that certain stones, notably the 
limestones, undoubtedly produce screenings of value in this re¬ 
spect. But, while most of the other stones make a dust almost 
wholly lacking in this property, such screenings, when properly 
applied, serve well as a binder. It would seem that the action is 
more mechanical than chemical. The fact that sand, if the particles 
are angular and not rounded, is often used satisfactorily as a binder, 
would seem to prove this hypothesis. 

Of the most common stones used for macadam work, it has come 
to be generally accepted that trap rock (diabases, diorites, and some 
other rocks of an igneous metamorphosis) is the best. In the order 
of merit there follow the felsites, hornblendic granites, the harder 
limestones, schists, and quartzites. It is not safe, however, with¬ 
out investigation and tests, to say, for instance, that a granite is 
always better than a limestone, since some of the noncrystalline 
limestones are often found to be far superior to the large crystalled 
granites. This may also be found to be true when other rocks of 
the foregoing list are compared with one another. 

Undoubtedly the best laboratory tests of rocks for road building 
are those made by the Public Road Office at Washington, D. C., 
of which Mr. Uogan Waller Page is director. 

That department undertakes to make tests and analyses of stones 
without charge. It has done much excellent work, and tests and 
reports on tests are made with admirable promptness. The nature 
of the tests as made by the Public Roads Office will not be dis¬ 
cussed here. They include everything hereinbefore referred to con¬ 
cerning tests of rocks and much more, and they have been com¬ 
pletely described in the bulletins of that department. 1 


Bituminous Materials. 

The writer pauses before entering upon the discussion of the 
tests of bituminous materials which may be used in road work. 
While there is no doubt that this material is the most interesting 


i See U. S. Dept of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry, Bulletins 7, 9, and 85. 



184 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


that has so far entered into the construction of road surfaces, it is 
so new that no standards have been fixed. 

The necessity for the use of such materials on our rural roads is 
wholly due to the rapid change in traffic conditions' from horse- 
drawn to self-propelled vehicles. Nor is it known precisely why 
motor vehicles require so different a kind of road surface. Much 
has been said and written, and the writer of this paper acknowl¬ 
edges his own errors in that particular, about the suction caused 
by the tires of such vehicles. While suction may play some part 
in the erosin of road surfaces, it is coming to be recognized that 
the principal source of difficulty lies in the disintegrating action 
of the rear wheels of motor vehicles. The tractive power, being 
applied through the rear wheels, results in a tangential stress upon 
the surface, instead of a pressure normal to the surface, as in the 
case of the horse-drawn vehicle. 

Until comparatively recently it has not been necessary to pro¬ 
vide against any such tangential stress; but no macadam road 
which will receive much motor vehicle traffic should now be 
planned without taking it into consideration. 

Thus far bituminous materials only seem to offer a remedy for 
the difficulty at a cost which is reasonable, and the coal tars, asphal¬ 
tic oils, and asphalts are the materials to which road builders have 
turned their attention in their search for a binder for the broken 
stone. 

The writer is aware that the title of this paper mentions partic¬ 
ularly simply tests. There is no such thing as a simple test of bi¬ 
tuminous material. There is no branch of chemistry which gives 
the chemist more trouble than the analyzing of materials containing 
bitumens. 

It is true that the coal tars have been used for many years, here 
and abroad, for sidewalk purposes, and to some extent in roadways, 
and that some of the men who have handled the materials have 
become more or less expert in its use. Indeed, some of these men 
claim to be able to judge of the quality of a tar when heated by 
watching it drip off the end of a stick or by chewing it. But these 
tests are rather too crude for the engineer, and the expert chewer 
cannot describe his sensations accurately enough for insertion in 
specifications. The results secured in the use of tar also indicate 
that these empiric methods are too crude, since, while some of the 
work done has been excellent, other tar constructions have disin¬ 
tegrated rapidly. 

All this leads the writer to the belief that the chemist must, in a 
large measure, work out this new problem for the road builder. 

The coal tars have been used sufficiently in the past in road build¬ 
ing to indicate that to be of substantial benefit they must be par¬ 
tially refined and possibly combined with other materials. Unless 
they are treated so that all the water, the naphthas, some of the 
light oils, and the ammoniacal liquors are removed, they will prove 
of little value. But just what the permissible specific gravity and 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


185 


percentage of free carbon, and what the viscosity and other charac¬ 
teristics should be, are questions of greater difficulty. 

The chemists, acting with the engineers, are working diligently 
on these questions, and it is hoped that by their combined efforts 
the essential characteristics will be standardized. 

The asphaltic oils likewise promise to be useful as binders for 
macadam and gravel roads; but even less is known of them than 
of the tars. It seems to be reasonably safe to say that they should 
be free from water, and that no oil which has a base of paraffin 
should be used. The value of the oil should depend on the amount 
of bitumen contained in it. Oils having a relatively low percentage 
of bitumen are useful for surface application to alleviate the dust 
nuisance; but for use as a binder in gravel or macadam work it 
now seems that those oils which have the greatest percentage of 
bitumen will prove most economical. 

It is an open question whether the best asphaltic oil is such as 
is made up synthetically by thinning down asphalts with lighter 
oils or fluxing oils, or whether the best oil is secured by stopping 
the refining process at just the right point and before the refining 
is carried to the hard asphalt stage. It would appear that the first 
process should give a product more uniform than the latter, but 
which process is the better is not yet determined. 

The asphalts which are being experimented with as binders are 
mostly of those made from asphaltic oils. No one knows whether 
they will prove more economical for use than the so-called natural 
asphalts, such as the Trinidad or the Bermudez. Tacking the test 
of time, the oil asphalts appear to be cheaper. 

The following specifications will give some idea of the complex¬ 
ity of the artificial binders here under discussion. They are such 
as have been prepared for the Massachusetts Highway Commis¬ 
sion by Mr. H. W. Clark, Chief Chemist of the Massachusetts State 
Board of Health, and represent the results of a considerable study 
of the materials in the laboratory and in the roads. It is not 
claimed that they are in perfect form; but the Commission is using 
materials conforming to them this year in its treatment of many 
miles of road. The specifications are intended to represent what 
have been so far offered as the best materials for bituminous road 
binders. 

Refined Tar. 

Section 10a. The tar must be uniform in color, character, appear¬ 
ance, and viscosity, and must have the following qualities: 

a. It shall contain not more than 0.5 per cent, of mineral matter 
or dirt. 

b. It shall have a specific gravity between 1.18 and 1.25. 

c. It shall not contain more than 14 per cent, by weight of free 
carbon. 

d. It shall contain no body that distills at a lower temperature 
than 225° C.; not over 10 per cent, by weight shall distill below 
270° C.; and it shall contain at least 65 per cent, by weight of pitch 


186 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


and bituminous material remaining after all bodies up to 360° C. 
have been distilled. 

e. When 20 grams are heated in a flat-bottom dish 3 inches in 
diameter for twenty-one hours in an oven kept at a temperature 
of 100° C., the loss shall be not more than 10 per cent, by weight. 

f. It shall be of such viscosity that 60 c.c. measured at room tem¬ 
perature (78° F. or 26° C.) shall, when at 100° C., be not less than 
85 seconds and not more than 240 seconds in passing through a vis¬ 
cosimeter orifice 5 / 64 of an inch in diameter when acting under a 
head of 4% inches. 

g. When 1214 per cent, by weight of the material is mixed with 
87% P er cent, by weight of sand, of such a grade that all will pass 
through a sieve having 10 meshes to the linear inch and practically 
none through a sieve having 100 meshes to the linear inch, and 
briquettes made 3 inches square and % inch thick, such briquettes 
will so harden in seven days at 4 ordinary room temperature that 
when laid flat and held by their edges by two parallel knife-edge 
bars, they shall not bend when a weight is suspended from a third 
knife-edge or parallel bar placed across their, center until this weight 
reaches 200 grams, and shall not break at less than 250 grams, and 
the weight causing bending shall not be greater than 80 per cent, 
of the weight causing breaking. 

Asphaltic Oil. 

Section 10b. The oil submitted shall be of a uniform color, ap¬ 
pearance, general character, and viscosity, must contain no bodies 
not naturally present in an asphaltic oil, and must fulfill the follow¬ 
ing requirements : 

1. It shall not contain more than 0.5 per cent, of dirt or adventi¬ 
tious mineral matter. 

2. It shall have a specific gravity of at least 0.97. 

3. It shall not contain more than 1 per cent, of matter insoluble 
in carbon bisulphide, and should not contain more than 10 per cent, 
insoluble in petroleum ether. 

4. It shall contain no body that distills at a lower temperature 
than 250° C., and shall not lose more than 55 per cent, by weight 
by distillation to 360° C. 

5. It shall be of such viscosity that 60 c.c. measured at room tem¬ 
perature (78° F. or 26° C.) shall, when at 100° C., be not less than 
5 minutes nor more than 10 minutes in passing through a visco¬ 
simeter orifice 5 / 64 of an inch in diameter when acting under a head 
of 4^ inches. 

'6. When 20 grams are heated in a flat-bottom dish 3 inches in 
diameter for twenty-one hours in an oven kept at a temperature 
of 100° C., it shall not lose more than 5 per cent, by weight. 

7. When 12% per cent, by weight of material is mixed with 
87% per cent, by weight of sand, and briquettes made 3 inches 
square and one-half inch thick, these briquettes must keep their 
shape and show some binding together. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


187 


Oil Asphalt. 

Section 10c. 

j* T he as phalt submitted shall be of uniform color, appearance, 
anoil asphalt’ and Sha11 C ° ntain n ° body not naturall y present in 


2. It shall not contain more than 1 per cent, of dirt or adventi¬ 
tious mineral matter. 

3. It shall have a specific gravity between 1.00 and 1.10. 

. 4 ‘ “ sh l 11 pontain more than 1 per cent, of matter insoluble 
m carbon bisulphide, and should not contain more than 30 per cent, 
insoluble m petroleum ether. 

5. It shall contain no body that would distill at a lower tempera¬ 
ture than 225° C., and should not lose more than 40 per cent bv 
weight by distilling to 360° C. 

6. When 20 grams are heated in a flat-bottom dish 3 inches in 
diameter for twenty-one hours in an oven kept at a temperature of 
100° C., the weight shall remain practically constant. 


Conclusion. 

The writer is aware that he has failed to include in this paper 
many tests, simple or otherwise, of a great variety of materials 
which enter into the construction of a modern road. No mention 
has been made of tests of cement, steel, clay pipes, paint, etc. To 
have included them would have made this paper unduly long, and 
would, perhaps, have taken it beyond the scope intended by the 
committee of the Congress which assigned the subject to the 
writer. 

The simplest and best test of road materials is their behavior 
under actual usage during a term of years. All accelerated tests 
may lead the investigator into error, but often it is not possible to 
wait for time to show results. 

Such is the case with the use of a bituminous binder, which, as 
has already been stated, is the most interesting subject which the 
world's road builders have before them at the present time. 

Of the three mentioned in this paper, the tars are best known. 
Some excellent results have been secured by their use, and many 
failures have occurred. There is no doubt that a specification for 
the best tar composition will soon be available. As for the asphal¬ 
tic oils and the oil asphalts, not so much can be said at the present 
time. 'They have not fully demonstrated their usefulness in the 
Eastern States, at least, and they must be watched for a term of 
years. They give great promise, however. 

It must not be forgotten that it may cost less to resurface a road 
with an inferior material, often applied, than to use the new mate¬ 
rials now entering into rural road construction. 

The cost per unit per annum is the ultimate test of the usefulness 
of any material. 


188 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


SENSIBLE UTILIZATION OF CONVICT LABOR. 

By Horatio S. Earle, President, National Convict Labor Good 
Roads Association, Detroit, Michigan. 

We are our brother’s keeper, intensely, when we have him incar¬ 
cerated. 

We are in many cases as guilty as the convict of a crime, 
for the burden of properly bringing up the young rests upon the 
adults, and if for our neglect he is a convict, then remember that 
it is our fault, and let our dealings with him show our knowledge 
of it, and do all we can to ameliorate our crime. 

Then the paramount matter is, what can we do for the convict? 

We can give him education, that will uplift him, so he can see his 
former self as others did see him. 

We can give him good food, good clothes, good home, and give 
him good hard work, all of which will help to make a stronger man 
out of him, physically, morally, and, we will hope, spiritually. 

Education, food, clothes, home for him are easy things to do; 
but what kind of work we shall give him is quite another thing. 
But work he must have, or become worse than when he received his 
sentence. 

Shall we take away from honest men and women nice, easy work 
to do, and give it to him? 

Shall we give him work manufacturing merchantable goods, so 
as to place these cheaply made goods in competition with those 
made by men paid a living wage? 

We have already committed one crime, the crime of not properly 
bringing up the man; and he it is that we have incarcerated for his 
and our crime. He has to suffer for both. Shall we commit 
another crime, and ask others to suffer for our criminality? 

It is nothing less than a crime for states and the United States 
to sell the labor of convicts at a less price per human-ability kilo¬ 
watt than is paid in a family-supporting living wage. 

Shall we, for the sake of furnishing loyal political party workers 
jobs in nice clean factories, whose talents in many instances do not 
furnish them with an ability to sucessfully run a blacksmith shop, 
allow state slave labor to compete with honest men, and allow the 
taxpayers to be taxed for capital to run unsuccessfully a state fac¬ 
tory to compete with private capital, and so put a burden upon the 
shoulders of both? 

One crime we are already guilty of, shirking our duty to the 
young; and to that we are going to add two more, harming labor 
by unjust competition, and capital by tax capital squandered. 

Work these men must have, lots of it, and good hard work. 

What shall we give them to do that will not do injury to honest 
labor or private capital? 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


189 


The almost insurmountable, yet very desirable, thing 1 that is 
needed to be done in each state in the Union; and let the United 
States do the same. 

What do I mean? 

I mean, let Michigan build a concrete arch bridge two hundred 
feet above water level across the Straits of Mackinaw, even though 
it takes fifty years for the state to do it, and use convict labor in 
doing it. 

This by private capital is insurmountable, but with state convict 
labor possible. 

After such a bridge was completed, a toll could be collected from 
all railroad companies using it, and it would furnish funds to sup¬ 
port the penal institutions of the state to the benefit of our posterity, 
that we should be as much or more interested in as we are in our¬ 
selves. 

I am not acquainted with the desirable, yet insurmountable, 
things in the state of Washington. It may be that you need an 
enormous bridge, or perhaps a tunnel, through Mt. Rainier. Use 
your convicts for that purpose. Then, and then only, will you or 
any other state be employing sensible ways of using convicts, 
which will benefit them, harm neither labor or capital, and be a 
great, lasting benefit to state, nation, and world. 


190 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


TELFORD ROADS. 

By Walter Wilson Crosby, Chile Engineer, Maryland Geo¬ 
logical Survey, Highway Division. 

The history of road making extends over a period of 2,500 years. 
The Romans learned the art of making paved roads from the Car¬ 
thaginians, and the Roman roads have always been regarded as 
models from which to copy and plan for present-day work. The 
Incas in Peru built extensive roads, according to Humboldt “not 
inferior to the most imposing Roman roadways.” The early 
French roads were constructed on the Roman method until about 
the beginning of the eighteenth century; but after about 1764 the 
methods were considerably modified by M. Tresaguet, and later, 
after McAdam had achieved so much success in the British Isles, 
still further modifications were adopted in 1820. 

Perhaps one of the most striking features of the older methods 
was the attention given to and the expense incurred in providing 
the most solid foundations. These were frequently three feet in 
thickness, composed of several layers of large stone. The early 
French methods simply reduced the thickness to about one-half 
that of the Roman foundations, and later Tresaguet reduced the 
foundation to one layer of large stone, eight to twelve inches high, 
set on edge—a forerunner of what is now called “Telford.” 

In August, 1757, Thomas Telford was born in the district of Esk- 
dale, county of Dumfries, Scotland. Learning the trade of a 
mason, he studied architecture in Edinburgh and London, and, 
being a man of great ability, soon established himself as a leading 
engineer. 

Primarily Telford was a bridge builder; but he carried out many 
other engineering works, particularly that of laying out and con¬ 
structing new roads. He was extremely successful in building 
nearly one thousand miles of roads in Scotland by contract. He let 
120 contracts for this work, extending over a period of 18 years, 
and the work was done with an economy before unheard of, and 
which resulted in extending his fame widely, and to his being 
called as consulting engineer on various engineering projects in 
Europe. 

One year previous to the birth of Telford, was born another fam¬ 
ous road maker, John London McAdam, at Ayr, Scotland. McAdam 
spent his youth in the United States of America, returning to Scot¬ 
land in 1793. The rest of his active life was passed in road work 
in Ayrshire, Falmouth, Bristol, Perthshire, etc. His success was 
such that he is generally considered a pioneer of good road con¬ 
struction and administration, and entitled to the reputation of a 
public benefactor. 

It will be noted that Telford and McAdam were contemporaries. 
The reputation of each will long survive their work, and justly so. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


191 


In many ways they worked along identical lines. To-day we sepa¬ 
rate or identify them by one difference in particular; that is, in the 
matter of the foundations preferred by each. 

McAdam preferred to consolidate the natural soil by drainage, 
by reinforcing it with gravel, or by similar means, and then to place 
the surfacing coat of broken stone directly on the prepared sub¬ 
grade, increasing the thickness of this layer of stone as might be 
necessary over weaker subgrades. Telford preferred to follow the 
older method, and provide between the natural soil and the surfac¬ 
ing coat a pavement of larger stone for the support of the surface. 

Since the passing away of the man whose name is now attached 
to it, this subpavement has been repeatedly tried by nearly every 
community proceeding with the work of road improvement, in the 
early stages of its work, and abandoned in nearly all of them. 

Undoubtedly such a foundation accomplishes its aim—to provide 
sufficient solidity for the surface. But, expedient as it may have 
been under the peculiar conditions of its use by Telford, it is ques¬ 
tionable if its use did not at the same time produce other conditions 
which ultimately might furnish arguments against it. It is, of 
course, probable that conditions where Telford worked were such 
that his well-known aim of economy was met with the use of the 
pavement foundation. Conditions have, however, so changed since 
his time that it is perhaps doubtful if Telford himself would now 
repeat its use, at least to its former extent, in the same localities, 
and it is most probable that, under the changed conditions now 
existing here with us, he would abandon, to a large extent, at least, 
if not wholly, its general use. 

When the older road builders were securing their results, labor 
was cheap, material plentiful, and in many cases expenses of com¬ 
paratively little moment. Coarse stone for the foundations were 
less hard to secure than the broken stone for surfacing. The latter 
were slowly broken by hand. Steam rollers were unknown. Rec¬ 
ords of first cost were not clear in many cases, and no records of 
maintenance cost, for comparison with a census of the traffic over 
the finished work, were available for pointing out what was eco¬ 
nomical construction and what was not. 

Further, it is doubtful if a fair comparison of results of the 
methods in use by the Romans, and followed by Telford, can be 
made with similar work elsewhere, because of a lack of knowledge 
of, or lack of record of, the variance in the local conditions of cli¬ 
mate and use. We do know, however, that Telford was tried in 
France, and abandoned for Macadam. 

In this country, with its diversified conditions, both Telford and 
Macadam have been used under all sorts of circumstances, and the 
consensus of opinion seems to be against the use of Telford, except 
under most extraordinary circumstances. 

Nowadays, with the rise in valuation of even rough stone, with 
the increased cost of labor, with the advent of the steam roller and 
the modern stone-crushing machinery, with the changed conditions 
of vehicular traffic, and especially, in many parts of this country. 


192 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


with the existing variety of climatic conditions, such, for instance, 
as long-continued rainy weather, long periods of drought, deep 
freezing, or alternate freezing and thawing, the best practice seems 
to unite in the abandonment of Telford foundations. 

Numerous trials of it have been made in different localities, and 
even to-day one occasionally hears of some state, just starting in on 
modern road work, which adopts in the early days of the work the 
Telford road as its standard. Later, it will generally be found that 
the inelasticity of this adoption has resulted in a reversal of policy. 

In the effort of the inexperienced to improve on previous results, 
by building apparently more substantially, is lost sight of the fact 
that rigidity and high first cost may not always be most advanta¬ 
geous, and the fact that frequently permanence may require to be 
sacrified to some extent for the sake of economy, or of comfort and 
convenience. 

A Telford base will certainly give rigidity and resistance to ver¬ 
tical displacement under occasional heavy loads. It is open to the 
objection, however, of being frequently too rigid and unyielding 
for the economical maintenance of the surfacing on top of it. Such 
a base acts as an anvil, upon which the pieces of Stone in the sur¬ 
facing may be more easily reduced to a powder by the hammering 
effect of the heavily loaded wagon tires. 

Where frost penetrates the ground to the depth of a foot or 
more, it has been proved by general experience that the large stone 
composing the base will work up into and destroy the surfacing, 
as well as thus losing their own lateral support under such frost 
action, and consequently much of their power to support loads. 
When the base becomes so displaced, the maintenance of the sur¬ 
face is rendered still more difficult and expensive. 

In many instances, the maintenance of a bond between the bro¬ 
ken stone surface coat and the paved base has been found ex¬ 
tremely difficult under the peculiar conditions of the local traffic. 

There are, moreover, a very few occasions, if any, where the nec¬ 
essary firmness for the base to the macadam surface cannot be 
secured by other methods, both freer of objections and less expen¬ 
sive, than by the Telford base. 

There may be instances where Telford would be demanded by 
conditions; but in all the experience of the writer he can recall no 
case where the demands could not have been better met by some 
other form of construction, and he is familiar with instances where 
it has been used with unsatisfactory results. 

It should not be understood from the foregoing that Telford 
invariably required the pavement now bearing his name under the 
surfacing. As a matter of fact he did not, and in No. 5 of his fam¬ 
ous “General Rules for Repairing Roads” he says: 

“Where a road has no solid and dry foundation, it must be constructed 
anew. It must be well drained, and put into a proper form,. Upon the 18 
center feet of stones must be put ‘(set by band)’ forming a layer of 7 inches 
deep. Soft stones will answer, or cinders, particularly where sand is preva¬ 
lent. Where a road has some foundation, but an imperfect one, or it is hollow 
in the middle, all the large stones appearing on the surface of it must 'be raised 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


193 


and broken; the 18 center feet of it must then be covered with a coating of 
broken stone, sufficient to give it a proper shape, and to form a bed of solid 
materials of at least 13 inches in depth. 

“Where a road already has a good foundation, and also a good shape, no 
materials should be laid upon it, but in their layers, for the purpose of filling 
ruts and hollow places as soon as they appear. Stones broken small, as above 
described, being angular, will fasten together. In this way a road, when once 
well made, may be preserved in constant repair at a small expense.” 

However, the generally accepted distinction between the work 
of McAdam and Telford is the absence or presence of the paved 
base, and such roads as have this base are invariably called “Tel¬ 
ford Roads,” and the base itself is referred to as “Telford,” just as 
the broken stone surface is called “Macadam.” 

While Telford, the engineer, is now perhaps best known by the 
pavement he advocated, under some circumstances, as a base for 
the broken stone surface, his fame as an engineer will remain long 
after the use of the pavement for that purpose shall have been 
everywhere abandoned, and the sound common sense of the man 
Telford, as well as that of his contemporary, McAdam, will always 
be honored by English road makers as is that of Tresaguet by the 
French. 


194 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


THE COST OF ROAD BUILDING AND METHODS 
OF REDUCING THE COST. 

By Haebert P. Gillette, Managing Editor or Engineering- 
Contracting, New York. 

There are approximately ten miles of wagon roads in America to 
each mile of railway. No one knows exactly what it would cost to 
build the average single-track railway, and there is very little else 
but single-track at present; but I should put the cost at not far 
from $35,000 per mile, exclusive of right of way and station 
grounds, but including buildings and equipment. 

What will a good macadam road cost per mile? Obviously no 
very definite answer can be given to such a question, without know¬ 
ing the local conditions, as well as the design of the road; but I 
should say that a fair average cost is not far from $7,000 for a 
double-track macadam highway. By “double-track” I mean a mac¬ 
adamized roadway 16 feet wide, so that two vehicles can readily 
pass at any place. 

The ratio of cost of a single-track railway (with all its appurte¬ 
nances) to the cost of a double-track macadam road is, therefore, 
about 5 to 1. But, in my opinion, there is no more necessity of 
building double-track wagon roads throughout the country than 
there is of building double-track railways. If, therefore, a single- 
track (8 feet wide) macadam road could be built for $3,500 a mile, 
and it can be, the ratio of cost of a single-track railway to a single- 
track road would be 10 to 1. Consequently, since the mileage ratio 
of railways to roads is exactly reversed, it would cost no more to 
pave every road in America than it has already cost to build all the 
railways. In fact, it would cost less, for the right of way for wagon 
roads has rarely to be purchased. 

It is not my intention to attempt to prove that it would be in 
the interest of economy to pave every wagon road in America, 
although I firmly believe that America will not be many years 
longer in reaching the present condition of England, where one 
may ride for a month and never see a “dirt road.” But, to hasten 
that desirable time, it is essential that both the civil engineers 
who design roads and the taxpayers who foot the bills shall cease 
demanding double-track roads, regardless of the amount of traffic 
that the road is to carry. What we need in America to-day is 
length, not width , nor thickness, of paved wagon roads. I use the 
word “pavement” to include macadam or any other artificial floor¬ 
ing laid upon the earth to distribute the wheel loads over the sub¬ 
soil and to keep the subsoil dry. 

A pavement may be likened to a sriowshoe, because the main 
function of each is to distribute a concentrated load over a soft 
material beneath, so that the concentrated load will not sink into 
the soft material. This is the main function of every pavement, 
and the designing engineer can never produce an economic design 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


195 


of road without clearly understanding this function. It is obvious 
that the per mile cost of macadam, or of any similar pavement, 
depends largely upon the number of cubic yards of pavement per 
mile. The length of a mile is fixed; but the other two dimensions 
of a pavement are not fixed. The width depends upon the amount 
of traffic to be carried, or at least it should. The thickness depends 
upon the softness of the subgrade and upon the skill of the design¬ 
ing engineer. 

As I have said, it ought to be evident to any one that, if the 
traffic of the country does not warrant double-track railways, it 
certainly does not warrant double-track wagon roads, as the stand¬ 
ard of general use. However, it is hard for an engineer, and still 
harder for a farmer, to think of building a paved roadway on which 
two vehicles cannot pass wherever they happen to meet. We know 
that there are innumerable unpaved mountain roads, and many dirt 
roads elsewhere than in the mountains, where there is but one 
trackway; turnouts being provided at short intervals. We also 
know that there are many macadam roads paved only six to eight 
feet wide, and giving excellent satisfaction. Still the mania for 
building double-track wagon roads persists, regardless of all eco¬ 
nomic reason. 

My conception of a standard road is one having a paved track¬ 
way 8 feet wide, with turnouts 50 feet long every 400 feet, the 
paved width being 16 feet at the turnouts. This- is equivalent to 
adding one foot of width to the entire length of the road, so far as 
cost is concerned. Of course, the entire road should be properly 
graded and crowned for a width of at least 20 or 24 feet between 
gutters or ditches; but the paved portion should be only a narrow 
strip, 8 feet wide, at the center, unless the traffic is dense enough to 
keep vehicles waiting a very considerable percentage of their time 
at the turnouts. 

Such a design may not appeal at first to automobilists; but we 
must remember that country wagon roads should be designed pri¬ 
marily for business use, and secondarily for pleasure. Moreover, it 
is possible so to treat the earth shoulders or sides of a paved road 
as to make them excellent roadways for pneumatic tired vehicles, 
particularly where the vehicle does not run constantly on the earth 
shoulder. Of this I shall speak later. 

We come next to a consideration of methods of reducing the 
thickness of the pavement. The old Roman roads were built of 
layers of stone often 36 inches thick. This was magnificently 
Roman, but it was poor engineering. Still there are many people 
who cannot free themselves from the impression that any structure 
that has endured many years must have been well designed. There 
is a popular fondness for whatever is massive. American engi¬ 
neers, however, have but one criterion as to excellence of design, 
and, briefly stated, it is this: 

That structure is best designed which performs its function with 
the minimum of cost for interest on first cost plus the annual 
expense of maintenance. 

M.R.B.—14 


196 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


When this criterion is applied, it is evident that even a macadam 
more than 6 inches thick is usually an uneconomic construction. I 
intend to show, briefly, that 6 inches of thickness is considerably 
more than need ordinarily.be given to a pavement. 

A pavement is like a snowshoe. The softer the snow, the larger 
the shoe should be in order to spread the load. The softer the sub¬ 
soil, the thicker the pavement must be, for the same reason. It is 
commonly said that the unit pressure on the subsoil, as transmitted 
through a pavement, varies inversely as the square of the thickness 
of the pavement. This is a conservative estimate; for, several 
years ago, I made some tests, in collaboration with Mr. Richard T. 
Dana, that proved that the pressure transmitted through a granular 
mass varies inversely as the cube of the thickness of the mass. An 
illustration and description of the pressure gauge that we used in 
these experiments will be found in “Engineering-Contracting, 
June 9, 1909. 

If snow is consolidated even a little, the size of the snowshoe can 
be greatly reduced. In like manner, if the subsoil is consolidated, 
the thickness of the pavement can be reduced. The trouble in the 
past has been in effecting a uniform consolidation of the subsoil 
to any considerable depth below the surface. The experiments 
above referred to show why it is that even a 10-ton steam roller is 
so inefficient in compacting the earth subgrade of a road. If the 
pressure transmitted through a granular mass decreases inversely 
as the cube of the thickness, it is evident that at a depth of six 
inches below the surface the pressure due to the load is less than 
one two-hundredth, or one-half of 1 per cent, of what it is at a 
point one inch below the surface, for the cube of 6 is 216. This is 
probably not the exact ratio for such heavy loads as a steam roller, 
but the figures serve to indicate in a general way what happens. 

A few years ago a method of compacting earth was invented by 
a California road builder, John Fitzgerald, which, in my opinion, 
is destined to do more toward reducing the cost of roads and 
streets than any single invention since Blake made the rock 
crusher—another American contribution to the science of road 
building, by the way. 

Fitzgerald observed the action of a flock of sheep which passed 
over a road that he had just plowed up, and he was struck by the 
wonderful compacting effect of their feet upon the plowed soil. 
After they had gone by, he found that an ordinary plow would not 
penetrate the sheep-compacted soil, and he was very angry. He 
remarked to his partner that, if the sheep had only been consider¬ 
ate enough to have waited until he had properly crowned the road, 
they would have not only saved him the expense of rolling it, but 
would have done the job infinitely better than he could do it with 
a roller. 

“Suddenly,” said Fitzgerald, in telling me of the incident, “a 
thought struck me. I couldn’t afford to hire a flock of sheep to do 
my rolling; but why couldn’t I invent a flock of sheep?” And he 
did. He made a roller with projecting “sheep’s feet,” as he called 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


197 


them, or tampers, as they are now called. The tampers project 
from the drum about eight inches, and sink to the hilt in plowed 
soil, thus starting their tamping action at the bottom. As the roll- 
mg tamper is pulled back and forth over the earth, the tampers 
gradually ride higher and higher, until finally they ride upon the 
consolidated mass, which is the test of sufficient rolling. 

If there are any lumps in the plowed earth, a spiked disc harrow 
is used 'to pulverize the clods before the rolling tamper is used. 
Most soils require sprinkling with water to secure the most effec¬ 
tive consolidation. It is not unusual for a soil weighing 90 pounds 
to the cubic foot to be thus tamped until it weighs 120 pounds per 
cubic foot. An even greater density can be secured by mixing 
gravel with a loamy soil. 

As yet, this method of compacting subgrades is scarcely known 
outside of the state where its inventor lives; such is the slowness 
with which all improved methods of construction come into gen¬ 
eral use. 

By compacting the soil uniformly to a depth of about six inches, 
it is possible to reduce the thickness of the pavement to three 
inches. This has been done with many asphalt-macadam pave¬ 
ments laid in California on a tamped base. 

The tamping never costs more than iy 2 cents per square yard; 
but, if the soil is very tough and breaks up in large clods, requiring 
harrowing, the cost of the plowing, harrowing, and sprinkling is 
occasionally as high as 2 y 2 cents per square yard. 

Let us see what is saved in cost of construction by Fitzgerald’s 
method of tamping subgrades. At the very least, the pavement 
can be reduced two inches in thickness, until it is four inches thick. 
If the soil is of a character that compacts well, the pavement need 
be only three inches thick, which is half the present standard thick¬ 
ness for macadam or asphalt-macadam. 

Macadam rarely costs less than $3.60 per cubic yard, measured 
rolled in place, at which rate each inch in thickness costs 10 cents 
per square yard. This makes the cost of a six-inch macadam 60 
cents per square yard. I shall not go into the details of the cost 
of macadam or of other pavements, for I have given them in my 
books. Assuming, for the present purposes, an average cost of 60 
cents per square yard, a six-inch macadam pavement sixteen feet 
wide costs $5,632. Grading, drains, culverts, engineering, etc., usu¬ 
ally bring the total cost up to $7,000 per mile. 

Now, if we cut the thickness in two, reducing it to three inches, 
and cut the width in two, reducing it to eight feet, we have a mac¬ 
adam pavement one-quarter the present standard cost per mile. 

Such a macadam road eight feet wide, with turnouts every 400> 
feet would cost about $1,600 per mile, exclusive of grading, tamp¬ 
ing the subgrade, etc. If the entire roadway is plowed and tamped 
for a width of twenty-seven feet, at the cost of 3 cents per square 
yard, we have a cost of about $500 per mile. I am well within 
bounds, therefore, when I say that a macadam road, paved for a 
single track, can be built in most localities for about $2,100 per mile. 


198 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


after the grading has been completed. Grading varies widely, but 
seldom averages more than 3,500 cubic yards per mile, which can 
be done at a cost ordinarily ranging from 20 cents to 35 cents per 
cubic yard. 

If culverts and bridges are already in existence, it is evident that 
a good single-track macadam road can be built ordinarily for about 
$3,000 a mile, including grading, provided it is built by contract, 
and not by day labor. What it will cost by day labor I should not 
even attempt to guess. Usually the cost is 50 per cent, to 100 per 
cent, higher than where the work is done by contract. Telford, 
the famous English road builder, has said that, in the long run, the 
day-labor method is two to three times as expensive as the contract 
method of road building. 

I have spoken thus far of macadam as the standard pavement, 
but there are many localities where the old-fashioned macadam 
should no longer be built. I need not dwell upon the destruc¬ 
tive effect of rapidly moving pneumatic tires upon macadam, for, 
thanks to the Office of Public Roads, this phenomenon has been 
carefully investigated. Some sort of a bituminous binder—asphalt, 
asphaltic oil, or tar—seems to be necessary, at least for the top 
wearing coat, wherever macadam is subject to very much auto¬ 
mobile traffic. 

Nor shall I discuss the latest development of asphaltic oil roads 
in California, where asphaltic oil is mixed with the soil and tamped 
into a dense mass that serves excellently under moderate traffic. 
The latest development of this method of road building consists in 
covering the tamped base with gravel or broken stone,, which is 
mixed with asphaltic oil and also tamped down, producing a sort 
of asphalt-macadam at a cost often as low as 30 cents per square 
yard. 

It is evident to all who read current engineering literature that 
we are in an era of development of road making methods such as 
has never been seen before by any one now living. 

This does not mean that macadam is to be abandoned entirely. 
I am satisfied that macadam will remain the most economic type of 
road pavement in many localities, where stone is cheap, bitumens 
are dear, and motor car traffic is light. 

Asphalt or tar macadam, of one sort or another, is likely to 
become a standard wearing coat where heavy motor car traffic 
exists; but this does not mean that this wearing coat will be of 
any such thickness as has been common with ordinary macadam. 

Ordinary earth, mixed with asphaltic oil or tar, and tamped solid, 
will be extensively used, not only as a base for an asphalt or tar 
macadam wearing coat, but for the shoulders on. each side of the 
asphalt or tar macadam; and where the traffic is moderate, and 
the soil suitable, no asphalt macadam wearing coat will be needed 
at all. 

Among other methods of reducing the cost of road work, I would 
mention particularly the use of clam shell buckets for unloading 
broken stone from cars into wagons, and the use of wagons drawn 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


199 


m trains by traction engines. Broken stone can be most econom¬ 
ically spread by a small scraper pulled by two horses. After being 
roughly spread in this manner, potato hooks or rakes should be 
used to complete the even spreading of the surface. 

We are accustomed to think of American road making as being 
only an imitation of English and French road work. It may not be 
amiss, therefore, to enumerate a few of the American inventions 
that have served to reduce the cost of road construction to such a 
degree as to put ‘‘good roads” within the reach of every American 
community, despite the fact that the wages of American road build¬ 
ers are from two to three times what they are in England or 
France. 

To begin with, we have the rock crusher, invented by Blake. 

Scarcely of less economic importance in macadam road work is 
the rock drill, also an American invention, the perfection of which 
should be credited to several different men. 

I do not recall the name of the inventor of the wheeled scraper 
for excavating and transporting earth, nor the “road machine,” nor 
of the “elevating grader”; but every one of these important earth- 
moving machines is an American invention. So, too, is the bottom 
dump wagon, and the small scraper for spreading broken stone. 

The steam roller is a French invention, but the rolling tamper is 
American. 

The use of asphaltic oil for “oiled road” construction is a Cali¬ 
fornia invention, dating as far back as the coming of the Spaniards 
to Lower California; for the paths around many of the old Span¬ 
ish missions were treated with crude asphaltic oil. 

America can, therefor, claim to have been the first to use a bitu¬ 
minous binder for roads. 

There is certainly no lack of knowledge of how to build roads at 
low cost in America, nor of how to build them well. With the 
development of the contract system of road building, and the pass¬ 
age of “state aid” laws, has come a wonderful impetus to road 
building. But the passage of these laws and the abolition of the 
old day-labor system of road building are due primarily to the 
campaign of education by the Office of Public Roads of the United 
States Department of Agriculture, and by the various organiza¬ 
tions and engineering publications that have worked in harmony 
for the betterment of the rural highway. 


200 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


SURVEYS AND MAPPING. 

By George C. Diehl, Bueealo, N. Y. 

Comprehensive highway laws and liberal appropriations are es¬ 
sential to the construction of properly developed systems of main 
and lateral highways. Long discussion and carefully planned cam¬ 
paigns of education are usually necessary before such laws and ap¬ 
propriations are obtained. Methods of construction and various 
engineering questions to a slight extent form part of the prelimi¬ 
nary educational work; but the problem of “Surveys and Mapping” 
is not presented until laws have been enacted and funds appro¬ 
priated to make such enactments effective. In all large accom¬ 
plishments the main idea and completed work are of general in¬ 
terest; but the details and intermediate steps which produce the re¬ 
sult are not always interesting. The expense of surveys and maps 
is frequently criticised, especially in localities where few roads 
have been constructed, and where the highest degree of efficiency 
has not been obtained. 

It is not intended to present in this brief paper any original ideas, 
but rather to outline the methods in vogue in states (especially 
New York State, from whose reports many of the below-mention¬ 
ed statements have been taken) where much road work has been 
done, and to indicate the advantages and economy of accurate sur¬ 
veys, careful estimates, and comprehensive study of the diverse 
conditions which confront the road builder. It is believed that the 
various problems can be best solved by careful, slow, painstaking 
consideration, rather than by quick decision, without surveys or 
exact facts, during the progress of the work. 

In surveying and mapping, as in all enterprises, the most satis¬ 
factory results can be obtained by thorough organization, fixed re¬ 
sponsibility, and systematized work. The minor problems must 
be solved by the subordinate officers, and the more important 
questions should be determined by the higher paid and better 
equipped officials. For instance, an assistant engineer is best 
employed making decisions on minor matters, rather than in con¬ 
jecturing his probable course if he were the chief engineer. It is 
more important that the chief engineer’s time should not be wasted 
on lesser details than that the assistant engineer should occasion¬ 
ally fail on a problem too difficult. Fixed responsibility quickly 
indicates ability, and permits the highest state of efficiency in or¬ 
ganization. The engineer’s force will, in addition to surveying 
and mapping, have charge of construction. 

The smallest unit should be the field party, and should usually 
consist of about six men, including an assistant engineer in charge, 
a transit man, a leveler, a rod man, and two chain or ax men. 

Several field parties should be in charge of a resident engineer, 
with an office suitably located to keep transportation charges at 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


201 


the minimum. The resident engineer should be assisted by a chief 
clerk, a stenographer, and a force of draftsmen proportionate to 
the number of field parties and the work performed by them. If 
the work is of considerable magnitude and covering the area of an 
entire commonwealth, three or four residencies should form part 
of a division under control of a division engineer, with suitable 
clerical and drafting force, dependent on the nature and amount 
of work in progress, and with offices conveniently located in the 
larger centers of population. 

The state should be divided into several divisions, and under 
the control of the chief highway engineer or commissioner, with 
offices at the state capital. The chief engineer should have a test¬ 
ing laboratory, deputies, clerks, draftsmen, and stenographers, to 
keep in close touch and perfect familiarity with the entire work, in 
order that he may render careful, yet quick, decisions on all vital 
matters, and may outline wise and economical policies. 

The chief highway engineer shall, before any surveys are under¬ 
taken, issue certain general rules and regulations, which must be 
rigidly adhered to, in order that the work may be standardized, 
and no time wasted, in the more important offices, in deciphering 
note books, etc. Field notes shall be kept in uniform sized books 
according to a standard system, and shall be furnished from the 
chief engineer’s office, and on the completion of work on any road 
the books shall be immediately filed in the division engineer’s office. 
Separate books shall be used for each road, and there should be 
indicated in each book the name, location, and length of the road, 
the names and duties of the field party engaged in making the 
survey, and an explanatory table of all abbreviations used. All ab¬ 
breviations must be in accordance with standard forms issued by 
the chief engineer, in order that field books may be equally in¬ 
telligible and easily read in any office in the state. Bench marks, 
azimuths, culverts, and the character of the soil shall be recorded 
in tabular form, in addition to the regular notes. At the beginning 
of each day’s notes the names of the field party, their duties, and 
the date and condition of weather should be recorded. Each field 
party should be equipped with a small camera, and photographs 
taken of any bridge, culvert, or special work which will require ex¬ 
tra study, consideration, and decision by the chief officials. The 
films should be listed, and pasted in note books near the corre¬ 
sponding transit notes. 

All surveys should be based on transit lines, which should be in 
or parallel with the center line of the highway. Some time can 
be profitably expended in locating stone markers or iron pipe which 
mark the center of highways, as these permanent marks are fre¬ 
quently destroyed during road construction, to the great incon¬ 
venience of property owners. All landmarks should be renewed or 
maintained. The azimuth of each line should be. taken, and each 
transit point or angle should be marked with an iron pin and ref¬ 
erenced to permanent objects by at least three measurements. 
Walls, fences, or other structures, which indicate the boundaries 
of the road or abutting property, should be located, as well as 


202 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


buildings within 100 feet of the road, or any permanent structures 
which may be affected by the proposed improvements, such as 
changed grades, new ditches, drains, etc. 

The magnetic bearing and location of each transit course, prop¬ 
erty line, and intersecting highway boundary line shall be meas¬ 
ured. All private houses, barns, or field drives which lead from 
the highway should be located, and a tabulated list made, show¬ 
ing their character. Existing paved ditches, curbing, catch-basins, 
railroad tracks, lines of telegraph and telephone poles, and shade 
trees should be located, and names of companies owning tracks 
or poles should be noted. All. bridges should be located, and 
sketches made, showing details of abutments, superstructures, etc. 
Complete notes, showing actual conditions of such structures, 
bridges, and abutments, should be compiled. All culverts should 
be located, and sketches made, showing details, and every one 
should be designated as “necessary,” “good,” or “bad,” which will 
indicate whether or not the culvert shall remain or be replaced. 
The assistant engineer must decide this question by examination 
at the time of survey, and must also ascertain if waterways or cul¬ 
verts are of sufficient size, as indicated by observation of previous 
high-water marks, or inquiry of nearby residents. Where new 
waterways are to be constructed, the assistant engineer should as¬ 
certain the area of watershed, and such other information of slope, 
surface, etc., necessary to compute the size of opening required. 
A tabular statement should be recorded, showing the nature of 
the soil, and the chief town highway official should be required to 
locate during the previous spring all sink holes, quicksand pockets, 
and unstable portions of the road, and mark the same by driving 
wooden stakes at the sides of the road or by other suitable methods. 
The assistant engineer must furnish detailed report of each portion 
of the road so indicated, with his recommendations for proper 
treatment. Surveys are usually made in dry weather, when soft 
spots are not easily detected. 

All quarries, or ledges of rock suitable for road materials and 
masonry should be located. Samples of the same shall be for¬ 
warded to the testing laboratory of the chief engineer, and the 
amount of rock estimated. The quality and quantity of field stone 
and gravel occurring on the road shall be likewise determined. All 
stone should be carefully tested in the laboratory, to ascertain its 
hardness, tenacity, toughness, absorption, and abrasive resistance. 
All exposed ledges should be examined to determine the effect of 
long-continued weathering. 

Data regarding the various transportation facilities for carrying 
material, location of nearest switch, name of railroad, freight rate, 
etc., should be obtained. The most advantageous locations for 
stone crushers should be determined, and the ordinary wages of 
laborers and teams. It might appear that much of this information 
should be obtained by the contractor to whom the work is let; but 
experience has demonstrated that, the more detailed the estimates 
of the engineer, the closer the contractors will bid on the work. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


203 


Numerous instances can be cited where the cost of roads have ab¬ 
normally increased by the failure to locate suitable unworked quar¬ 
ries convenient to the road. 

The leveler and rod man should run accurate levels, establish 
and keep accurate record of a series of permanent bench marks, 
giving elevation at suitable points, above tide water or other gen¬ 
eral accepted datum plane. 

At each 100-foot station, at each change of grade, and at cross¬ 
roads,. elevations should be taken to the nearest 1 /io foot on the 
base line, and such other points at either side as may be needed to 
plot an accurate profile and cross-sections of the road. Usually 
levels need not be taken outside the boundaries of the highway, un¬ 
less a considerable cut or embankment is to be made, or the high¬ 
way to be widened. Cross-sections shall be taken where there are 
marked changes along the beaten path. Elevations should be tak¬ 
en at front corners of all buildings which are apt to be affected by 
the proposed improvements. Cross-sections should be taken near 
each culvert, to permit accurate computations of culvert excavation. 
Profiles and locations of streams adjoining or crossing the high¬ 
way should be obtained, if there is any possibility of changing the 
existing drainage system. 

To avoid confusion, a regular routine should be followed in mak¬ 
ing all locations and taking levels. The rod man and chain man 
must keep separate notes of all readings on bench marks and all 
measurements to transit points. 

Frequently existing highways have been laid out along old farm 
or lot lines, without reference to suitable grades or stable founda¬ 
tions. Often 15 per cent, or 20 per cent, grades or poor founda¬ 
tions are encountered, which could have been avoided by making a 
slight detour. Such new locations can be adopted in many cases 
at a less cost and with more satisfactory results than attempting 
excessive cuts or fills on existing roads, with the heavy conse¬ 
quential damage to abutting owners and additional road metal and 
drainage in soft spots. Whenever a grade is over 5 per cent., and 
the assistant engineer believes a new location is desirable, he 
should report the same to the resident engineer, who should per¬ 
sonally take charge of all surveys. If there are several available 
lines, a survey should be made of each, by running transit lines 
and taking cross-sections extending not less than 100 feet each side 
of the transit line. Profiles should be plotted and contour maps 
made, and a most careful study made, including rough estimates 
of cost. The character of soils should be ascertained by borings 
where cuttings are to be made. Swamps, woodlands, pastures, cul¬ 
tivated lands, vineyards, etc., should be located, to ascertain the 
comparative cost of acquiring the new right of way. 

Nearly every problem which enters into railroad construction 
is encountered in locating new right of ways for highways, and 
instances are frequent where thousands of dollars might have been 
saved by slight changes in alignment, or grade, which should 
easily have been foreseen and provided for by proper study. 


204 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


The final location must be determined by the division engineer, 
and in difficult cases by the chief engineer, and should take into 
consideration convenience to the traveling public, length of route, 
the total amount of rise and fall, subsoil conditions, total cost, the 
number of culverts and bridges, natural defects to be overcome, 
and tractive resistance, which depends on a combination of length 
and grade. Lessening of maximum grades means continual sav¬ 
ing in the transportation charges to every user of the highway. 

Surveys for acquiring a new right of way, either for widening 
or making new locations, should be made by a party especially de¬ 
tailed for that purpose. Transit lines should be made, carefully 
run around each parcel, and the length and bearing of all sides de¬ 
termined. Stone markers or iron plugs should be set to define the 
lines of property taken, deeds of records of property transfers and 
road records should be examined, and the entire survey connected 
with the original road survey. Maps should be prepared in the 
offices of the resident engineer (which is accessible to highway) 
in case additional measurements are required. 

Plans shall first be drawn on continuous detail paper about 24 
inches wide and to a scale of 50 feet to one inch. The transit lines 
should be drawn, checked, and inked before details are plotted. 
All details, owners’ names, railroads, notes relating to quarries, 
grade, water, etc., should be neatly placed on map*in pencil. Pro¬ 
files should be drawn on standard continuous profile paper, to a 
horizontal scale of 50 feet to one inch and a vertical scale of 10 
feet to one inch. All profiles should be checked and inked before 
plotting grade line, which should be determined by the resident 
engineer and drawn in pencil. Culverts, bridges, crossways, etc., 
should be indicated on both plans and profiles. Cross-sections 
should be drawn on standard transparent cross-section paper to a 
scale of 5 feet to one inch. The surface line station numbers, eleva¬ 
tion of center, abbreviations for fences, trees, etc., should be inked. 

The proposed grade lines should be adopted after careful consid¬ 
eration by the resident engineer.* The amount of excavations 
should be sufficient, as far as practicable, to make the necessary 
embankments and shoulders. The old road surface, frequently the 
result of graveling for many years, should be preserved and used 
for a foundation as far as practicable. The maximum grade should 
not be greater than 5 per cent., nor less than y 2 per cent., unless 
authorized by the chief engineer. The value of road depends large¬ 
ly on a properly determined grade. Excessive grade limits the 
speed, weight of load, and renders drainage problems more diffi¬ 
cult. The grade as far as it is practicable should be adjusted not 
to interfere with existing houses, shade trees, driveways, sidewalks, 
etc. Changes on grades of over 2 per cent, should be eased with 
vertical curves, and heavier grades should be in the direction of 
lightest travel. 

The proposed alignment of the road should follow the center 
line defined by the road record, except where sharp turns can be 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


205 


avoided, which are particularly dangerous on roads much used by 
motor vehicles. 

The proposed finished cross-section should be determined by 

e chief engineer. Generally the roadway on main highways 
should be about 30 feet in width, with 16 feet width of road metal- 
“ e crown on the road metal should be about % inch to 
the foot or 4 inches for a 16-foot width of metaling. The earth 
wmg s should slope about % inch to the foot, and the slope to the 
ditch should not be steeper than 3 inches to the foot. The entire 
cross-section should be so proportioned that the traffic should be 
spread, and not follow a single track; also that any vehicle could 
be driven into the ditch without danger of overturning. 

Before determining the character of road metal, a traffic census 
of the road should be taken by the assistant engineer. The num¬ 
ber of horse and motor vehicles should be counted, and their 
weight estimated, at the hours of heaviest travel. The kind, thick¬ 
ness, and width of road metal should be based on the present and 
estimated future tonnage per foot width of road, the number and 
speed of motor vehicles, and the general soil and drainage condi- 
tions. The surface should be dry, solid, elastic, dustless, of easy 
grade, and smooth. 

.After the proposed alignment, grade, and cross-section have been 
plotted in pencil on the plajis, they should be submitted to the di¬ 
vision engineer for his approval, and he should fix a date when 
the county and town officials could accompany the resident en¬ 
gineer and himself over the road on foot with the plans, and care¬ 
fully go over on the-ground all the suggested improvements, in 
order that the sound common sense of the farmers along the roads, 
the special knowledge of the local officials, and the technical abil¬ 
ity of the engineers would be combined in the final and completed 
plans. Conclusions should be reached regarding the kind and width 
of road metaling, the location and size of culverts, the changes in 
grade, alignment, and cross-section, the method of providing stable 
foundations at sink holes, quicksand pockets, and soft spots, the 
location of underdrains, and the general scheme of drainage, es¬ 
pecially where necessary to construct new waterways to carry wa¬ 
ter from the lateral ditches, the locations of concrete ditch cross¬ 
ings, guard rails, road signs, and guide posts, and the best methods 
of construction, in order to cause the least inconvenience to the 
traveling public. 

After the results of this inspection and consultation, the lines, 
grades, and sections as finally determined should be inked, and the 
drawing traced on uniform size sheets, preferably about 24x36 
inches. Celluloid tern plates cut to proper form can be used to 
draw the proposed cross-sections or plans. 

The quantities of the various items should then be computed. 
The excavation and embankment can be quickly and with suffi¬ 
cient accuracy determined by the method of end areas, using a 
planimeter to ascertain such areas. The plans should contain all 
information concerning quarries, transportation facilities, gravel 


206 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


and sand banks, and in short every fact that will be of value to any 
contractor in computing the actual cost of construction. 

Many contingencies arise during the survey, and it is not in¬ 
tended in this short space to attempt to describe them, or to enter 
into any intricate engineering problems relating to the construc¬ 
tion of large span bridges, which are necessary on many roads, 
nor to discuss the various types of road construction, which will 
doubtless be more ably treated by the other speakers. 

The methods outlined relate principally to main roads improved 
with macadam or hard surface. Maps of town or lateral roads, 
showing locations of bridges and culverts, are of great value to the 
local highway officials, who are also much aided in improving earth 
roads by well-directed surveys defining new alignments and better 
grades., 

Highway engineering offers the largest field for individual effort 
productive of great benefit to the community. At present many 
engineers do not seek employment in this branch of the public 
service. Highway positions should be made attractive by insuring 
permanency in tenure of office, by increasing salaries, and by re¬ 
warding successful work with well-earned promotion. The future 
of the Good Roads movement largely depends upon the ability, ex¬ 
perience, and earnestness of the highway engineers. 

The best results can be obtained by a hearty co-operation be¬ 
tween the farmer, the engineer, and the road user, and the recog¬ 
nition by each of the common sense, skill and perception of the 
others. Good laws, liberal appropriations, accurate surveys, care¬ 
fully prepared plans, organization, co-operating interests, fair deal¬ 
ing, and integrity will produce this country’s greatest need— 
Good Roads. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


207 


BOULEVARDS. 

By Samuel C. Lancaster, Seattle, Washington. 

The boulevard of to-day, with its combined effect of nature and 
art, exhibiting the character and life of a city, had its origin in 
the rampart, or fortress, of the walled towns and cities of the Old 
World. 

With the city’s growth, it became necessary to construct a sec¬ 
ond, and in some cases even a third, wall, with its accompanying 
moat. A new fortification having been completed, the old wall 
was leveled, and the moat filled, thus forming a broad space en¬ 
circling the city. From this has grown the boulevard of to-day 
with its beautiful drives, lined with shade trees, flowering shrubs, 
parks, and promenades. 

A striking example of the splendid use which has been made of 
the ground occupied by the old ramparts is found in the city of 
Brussels (often called “Little Paris,” on account of its magnificent 
system of boulevards and parks). The massive stone towers which 
fortified the gateways to the ancient city of Cologne, each of a 
different type of architecture, were preserved when the old wall 
was demolished, and they have been made to form a most interesting 
feature of the present parking system. 

In Paris many of the interior boulevards owe their origin to 
the bulwarks or fortifications which surrounded the city in the 
Middle Ages. But since 1852 the name has been applied to num¬ 
bers of thoroughfares which have nothing whatever to do with 
bulwarks. 

When victory crowned the great Napoleon, ambition for his 
capital knew no bounds, and he determined to make of Paris the 
most beautiful city in the world. Under his orders triumphal 
arches, bridges, quays, and public works of great magnitude were 
begun. Louis Phillippe resumed with new ardor the completion 
of Napoleon’s modern Paris, but it remained for Napoleon III to 
complete the transformation on a scale of magnificence hitherto 
unparalleled. Under the direction of Haussmann, plans were ma¬ 
tured and the most beautiful boulevards of the world were con¬ 
structed. The inner and the outer boulevards encircling Paris 
have an average width of 140 feet throughout their 20 miles. In 
a couple of districts, for a distance of more than 4 miles, there is a 
width of 240 feet, while the Champs Elysees from the Place de la 
Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe has a width of 275 feet. 

Of the 12 broad avenues which radiate from the triumphal arch, 
the Champs Elysees and the Bois de Boulogne are perhaps the 
most frequented. Under the refreshing shade of the trees which 
line these avenues, men and women sit at little tables eating, drink¬ 
ing and watching the life of the way, with its kaleidoscopic move¬ 
ment of men and things which animate it from morning till morn¬ 
ing comes again. Evening brings electric lights and brilliant il- 


208 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


lumination, suggesting a city of pleasure, which no one quits 
without regret. 

In nearly every European city the water front is permanently 
improved with solid walls of masonry, defining clearly the limits 
of the sea or river, to which access is provided for heavy, teaming 
by a lower roadway; the higher level being reserved for parks and 
boulevards. 

It has been shown that much of the beauty found in the Old 
World cities is the growth of centuries, while in our country it 
is scarcely more than 50 years since the development of parks and 
boulevards was undertaken. We have had to begin at the begin¬ 
ning, yet in a few years we have accomplished great things. With 
an awakened public interest and the knowledge that it pays, Amer¬ 
ica is now well to the front. It is an established fact that the in¬ 
fluence of parks and boulevards increases the value of real estate 
and tends to lessen the general ,tax of the city, instead of increas- 
ing it. 

There is scarcely a city which is not maturing plans, or actively 
engaged in constructing parks, with a connecting system of boule¬ 
vards, or widening and extending broad avenues from the business 
and residential centers, so as to form a fitting approach to some 
great park or public building. As a nation we are just awakening 
to the full appreciation of the great work done by Le Enfant in 
planning our National Capital, and after nearly a hundred years 
his ashes have been removed to Arlington Cemetery, and a fitting 
monument will mark his resting place. But his own work is a 
greater monument than any which we can rear. 

When the plan of the commission for the improvement of the 
Mall has been fully executed, our National Capital will indeed be 
beautiful, and other American cities will be stimulated to greater 
action. 

The parkways or boulevards of a city, besides connecting parks 
and affording easy means of communication, should take advan¬ 
tage of beautiful natural surroundings, as has been done in River¬ 
side Drive, New York, where the high bank of the North River has 
been made to form the crowning effort of the city’s boulevard sys¬ 
tem, surpassing in beauty the famous Thames embankment; or, 
as in the case of Kansas City, where steep and rocky hillsides, 
which were before unsightly, have been made to form the prin¬ 
cipal feature of interest by the construction of parks and boule¬ 
vards which have raised the standard of all building operations 
until the new section presents a contrast to the old town as marked 
as if built a thousand years later. 

Charles Eliot has defined landscape architecture as “being the 
art of arranging land and landscape for human use, convenience, 
and enjoyment.” 

In the construction of boulevards it is likewise important to com¬ 
bine convenience with beauty. In some sections it would be best 
for them to take a certain formal character, without rendering them 
artificial to a marked degree. 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


209 


w e are coming to feel that scenery belongs to the people, and 
that it has its value.” We should therefore preserve the most 
attractive natural features for the constant use and enjoyment of 
the many against the selfishness and greed of a few. 

To quote Morris: 

Meantime, there is one duty obvious to us all: It is that we.should set our¬ 
selves to guard the natural beauty of the earth. We ought to look upon it as 
a crime, an injury to our fellows, only excusable because of ignorance, to mar 
the natural beauty which is the property of all men.” 

Charles Kliot helped the city of Boston to appreciate this great 
fact, and the Metropolitan Park Board is giving to that city the 
most perfect system of parks and boulevards which has yet been 
devised. 

Chicago is reserving to the people a great portion of the Lake 
Front, and with a chain of boulevards is connecting the Northwest 
and the South Side Parking Systems. 

St. Paul and Minneapolis form a striking example of what has 
been accomplished in the Middle West; for together these twin 
cities have created a magnificent system. Their boulevards and 
public drives, 34 miles in extent, link together a splendid array of 
lakes, waterfalls, and rivers, among which are beautiful Minne¬ 
tonka, the great gorge of the Mississippi River, and the falls of 
Minnehaha. 

With the growth and development of boulevards in this and 
other countries has come a demand for a perfect road surface, one 
which shall' be smooth, clean, and durable. 

Many different materials have been used, wood block, asphalt, 
bitulithic, macadam, gravel, etc., according to the boulevard’s 
importance and the traffic to be sustained. 

Space will not permit further mention of other work of great 
magnitude in progress in other cities. 

In closing, attention should be called to the natural beauty of 
Seattle’s situation. Looking to the east, across Lake Washington, 
we see the great range of Cascade Mountains, the white caps of Mt. 
Baker and Rainier reaching into the heavens; to the west, across 
Puget Sound, the irregular, snow-covered peaks of the Olympics. 

In the midst of the city are other beautiful lakes of fresh water, 
and numerous hills afford viewpoints which can not be excelled. 
Wherever possible, Seattle’s Park Board is seeking to control these 
situations, and is acquiring the steep slopes and deep ravines, 
clothed with the rich natural growth, for parkway purposes. A 
comprehensive plan has been adopted, and a system of boulevards 
34 miles in extent will soon encircle the city, connecting all the 
principal parks. 


210 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


HIGHWAYS AND CIVILIZATION. 

By Howard H. Gross., Illinois. 

The function of the highway in the progress of civilization is 
fundamental and far-reaching. The more one studies the question, 
the more he becomes convinced of the truth of the saying of 
Charles Sumner, Massachusetts’ great Senator, who forty years 
ago gave utterance in a public address to his belief that “the two 
most potent factors in the advancement of civilization are the 
schoolmaster and good roads.” 

It has been the observation of travelers throughout the world 
that, with the single exception of America, the condition of the 
highways was a fairly good index of the social, moral, and intellec¬ 
tual standard of the people of any country. France, Germany, 
Great Britain, and Italy lead the world in art, literature, and 
science, and here are to be found roads highly improved and main¬ 
tained in the best possible condition. 

It is sometimes said that the reason the roads are bad in our 
own country is that we are so new and have such an enormous area 
that the building of good roads is a well-nigh impossible task. We 
will see later that it is a problem that may be easily solved, and, 
instead of putting a burden upon the people to do it, will relieve 
them of a burden many times greater than that they now bear without 
realizing it. The reason stated above for bad roads here is not 
sufficient. Australia has splendid roads and a large area. In New 
Zealand the roads are good. Both these countries are much young¬ 
er than we are. We must seek, another reason. 

In passing, it may be interesting to advert to the fact that the 
present conditions have grown out of certain misconceptions that 
very largely obtained when the republic was young, and which 
did not change when the conditions that were responsible for them 
had entirely disappeared. In colonial days the people settled in 
the valleys, along the river banks. They lived in a primitive way, 
and all were producers and consumers as well. What they wore, 
they made; what they ate, they raised; and business was prin¬ 
cipally a matter of barter and exchange between neighbors of such 
surplus articles as they did not require. One settlement had very 
little to do with, and no great interest in, another settlement over 
the hills in the next valley. Each community was sufficient unto 
itself, or nearly so. The country was dotted with these settle¬ 
ments for several hundred miles along the Atlantic coast. It was 
the day of the home-spun. The spinning wheel and hand loom 
were everywhere in evidence. How naturally, then, under these 
conditions, with the strong home rule sentiment that burned with 
increasing brightness among them, that these people should re¬ 
gard the highways as entirely a local matter. What business was 
it to the people in one community whether the roads in any other 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


211 


community were good or bad? The people of each individual com¬ 
munity assumed the absolute right of control of the highways. 

A century or more has passed. To-day it is very different. The 
advent of the railways, spanning the continent from sea to sea 
and from the Lakes to the Gulf with bands of steel, the introduction 
of the factory system, wherein machine-made goods drove out 
the home-made, and sent the spinning wheel and hand loom to the 
attic as reminders of a period that had forever gone, when great 
cities dot the map with millions of hungry mouths to feed, we have 
a new and different problem. Farming, then primitive, is now done 
by wholesale. With modern machinery, the cultivator of the soil 
produces five, ten, or a hundred times more than he needs, and 
this surplus must be sent to the toiling millions in the towns and 
cities for their sustenance. In fact, the food products of the world 
must pass in the farm wagon over the public highways. Farm 
produce, instead of being consumed within a few miles of where it 
was produced, as under former conditions, now starts upon a 
journey that may be 50 or may be 5,000 miles before it is ended. 

Thus the function of the highway has completely changed, and, 
instead of being a matter of local significance alone, it is of con¬ 
tinental, and in fact international, meaning. Poor roads increase 
the cost of delivery, and make the same erratic, uncertain, and in¬ 
termittent. The delivery depends in a large degree upon road con¬ 
ditions, and these are such that sometimes for weeks at a time not 
a wheel can be turned. This makes it necessary to store 'large 
quantities in the cities, in order to supply the demand for consump¬ 
tion, and increases the cost by a heavy storage charge. Surely 
anything that so vitally affects the necessities of all mankind, and 
which is with us so persistently, as bad roads, is a matter of gen¬ 
eral, and not of local, concern. Hence the new conception that 
both the state and the nation has and should recognize an inter¬ 
est in the highways, and be charged with some responsibility 
for their care and maintenance. The highways are the veins of 
commerce, as the railways and steamship lines are the arteries. 
They play their part in bringing to the modern home its necessi¬ 
ties and luxuries. At the writer’s own table he has at various sea¬ 
sons of the year oranges from California, apples from Washington, 
cantaloupe from Colorado, cranberries from Wisconsin, water¬ 
melons from Georgia, pineapples from Florida, bananas from the 
Antilles, etc., down the line. When we think of this, we realize 
how our comfort and happiness is involved in the question of trans¬ 
portation. 

In the misconception, as above stated, that the roads are purely 
a local matter, may be found the principal reason for the lack of 
improvement upon American highways. The new conception, 
which in its best expression is State Aid, with National Aid com¬ 
ing, will be found the solution of this great problem, the greatest 
economic and social problem that confronts the people to-day. We 
believe that America, a land where so many laurels have been won 
in every field of human endeavor, will speedily grapple with and 
M.R.B.—15 


212 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


solve the road question to meet twentieth century conditions. A 
better day is dawning. In every state in the Union there are hun¬ 
dreds of earnest and unselfish men and women preaching the Gos¬ 
pel of Good Roads, and what a text they have! In this great work, 
eminent, if not pre-eminent, is the state of Washington.. Here in 
one of the youngest members in the sisterhood of states, in an em¬ 
pire of boundless possibilities, a land of brilliant achievement and 
of mighty endeavor, this great movement is going forward by leaps 
and bounds. It needs no prophet to predict that America’s great¬ 
est and best in social and industrial life will find its highest expres¬ 
sion “where rolls the Oregon.” . .... 

But we must come to our text—the highways and civilization. 
How intimately are they linked! How much the condition of the 
former has the influence to augment or restrict the progress of the 
latter! 

The recent Country Rife Commission, appointed by our late 
great President, found the paramount need of the rural folk was for 
better schools and good roads. It might better be said good roads 
and better schools, for with good roads the better schools are sure 
to follow. The school teacher has done a splendid work, but how 
vastly greater would it have been if he had had the influence of 
splendidly kept highways. With these consolidated township 
schools are easily possible, and that means the country boy or girl 
will be able to get a high school education while living upon the 
farm. The township school will be the social center, and its in¬ 
fluence upon the community life will be one hundred fold more 
potent than the “little red school houses,” of blessed memory and 
little usefulness, that dot the landscape o’er. 

Bad roads have driven tens and hundreds of thousands of the 
best blood and brawn from the farms to the nearby towns and 
more distant cities. The country lad, with a strong, vigorous body 
and active brain, is not content to be mud-bound upon the farm for 
days and weeks at a time. He is awake to the possibilities that lie 
within him. He is restless and pulsates with energy. He dreams 
and longs for the intenser life of the city. He feels an almost ir¬ 
resistible desire to get closer to the nerve center of things. The 
great outside world is calling to him, and his nature answers the 
call. 

One of the paramount needs of our great country is to bring the 
city and country folk together on social, educational, as well as 
business, lines. Give youth of the country at home and in the 
nearby town the social life his nature demands, and he will be 
happy, contented, and willing to take up the farm work when his 
father, by reason of age, must lay it down. Good roads will do 
more than anything else to establish this condition, by making com¬ 
munication easy between farm and farm, and farm and town. What 
is more pleasurable than a drive behind a good team over a splen¬ 
did country road, or in the modern automobile? Is there any¬ 
thing more disheartening to the farmer than to look out upon a sea 
of mud where the public highway should be, with the town five 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


213 


miles distant, and be obliged to make the trip on horseback or on 
foot because of bottomless roads? 

The country needs, demands, and must have improved high¬ 
ways, rural delivery, the telephone, and consolidated schools. With 
these will come brighter days upon the farm, higher and better 
developed social life, and better living. Distance is no longer 
measured by the yard stick, but by the clock’s tick. Good roads 
make long miles short. The influence of good roads upon farm 
life is to dignify it. They make country life better worth living; 
they broaden, educate, and uplift this most important branch of the 
commonwealth; they bring the advantages of the church and the 
lecture platform to the resident of the country districts; they re¬ 
lieve him of isolation and drudgery. Up-to-date roads make up- 
to-date citizens. With good roads he will come in contact with 
other men, and take a larger and higher view of life; he will be¬ 
come more useful to himself and more valuable to the community. 
His interests will go beyond the division fence that separates him 
from his neighbor. He will read more and become better in¬ 
formed. His wife and daughters will have an opportunity to mix 
in town society, to the benefit of themselves, and equally to the 
benefit of their town-bred sisters. This intercourse will speedily 
remove the apparent distinction between them; they will become 
better acquainted, and each will find to her surprise that the other 
has been misunderstood. Jealousies will be supplanted with 
friendships, and the charm and characteristics peculiar to the town 
and country girl will be merged and blended in a composite prod¬ 
uct that will be better for the blending. 

Man is a social being. Sociability is broadening and should be 
cultivated. The city and country have unfortunately only a bow¬ 
ing acquaintance. Tack of social intercourse, which leaves room 
for the growth of prejudice and jealousy, is largely responsible for 
this unwholesome and cramped condition. Bad roads are respon¬ 
sible principally for the slight acquaintance that is maintained be¬ 
tween the city and the country, arid for the absence of the socia¬ 
bility that would naturally follow a closer acquaintance. 

There is something radically wrong with the man or woman, 
who, knowing it well, does not love the country. He who has only 
had occasional glimpses of it through the window of a parlor car, 
as he is whirled away on his summer vacation, does not know 
farm life; he has never drunk the pure, sweet breath of God—never 
felt the throbbing of Nature’s great warm heart. A passing 
glimpse of the wonderful gardens—the great farms of our country 
—is not to know them ; but to know them well is to love them. 
With easy access from town to country, farm life will be better 
known, better appreciated, and the sturdy, wholesome qualities of 
the country folk will blend with those of the city neighbors, to the 
betterment of both. 

With bad roads as a barrier to free and easy intercourse between 
the city and the farm, the young mind is warped by wrong impres¬ 
sions, and the soul narrowed by prejudice, and sound symmetrical 


214 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


education and development are thereby hindered, if not rendered 
impossible. 

It must be admitted that, from end to end of our beautiful pro¬ 
gressive country, the greatest drawback to thorough education, 
the greatest drag on spiritual, mental, and moral development, is 
the hindrance to free social intercourse between town and country 
by bad and at times impassable roads. Every farmer knows that 
there is nothing more destructive to tranquility of mind, nothing 
that more effectually banishes smiles, nothing more conducive to 
gray hairs and wrinkles, than to sit upon a loaded wagon and see 
a splendid team struggling through mud and ruts, while the wagon 
tongue swings viciously from side to side. 

A striking result of the building of roads is the effect upon the 
pride of the people. The tumble-down fence in front of the farm 
house is replaced by an attractive picket or woven-wire type; the 
house is painted; a new barn is built; trees and flowers appear. 
The people wake up to the fact that life is better worth living, 
and that, notwithstanding the amount of labor the conduct of the 
farm requires, modern machinery, with good transportation, re¬ 
duces it to a minimum. 

If one will carefully investigate the burdens, the handicaps, the 
hardships and drawbacks, due to bad roads, and the money loss 
to the farmer because of his inability to take advantage of good 
prices in the markets, the loss to the city dweller because of short¬ 
age of supplies and increased cost of transportation over poor 
roads, he will be appalled at the figures. He will find that a small 
part of the economies brought about by roads good every day in 
the year would build and maintain them; that in fact he will be 
forced to the conclusion that the building of good roads is not an 
expense, but an investment that will yield a larger and surer re¬ 
turn than any other to be found. Take the great Upper Mississippi 
Valley. Here under the State Aid plan good roads could be built 
upon all the main highways in the short period of ten years at an 
average cost to the farmer of ten cents per acre per year. Experi¬ 
ence everywhere demonstrates that such roads will add to the 
value of the farms served by them at least five times the tax upon 
the farms to build them. Good roads are an asset to the town, the 
state, and the nation. 

Because of bad roads throughout the Mississippi Valley, there 
is a large drift of the owners of the farms to nearby towns, and the 
farm drifts into the hands of a tenant. This means that the farm 
certainly will run down. The fertility of the soil will not be main¬ 
tained. The landlord squeezes the tenant, and the tenant squeezes 
the farm. We are fast establishing the conditions that for three 
hundred years have been the curse of Ireland. The question of 
keeping the owner upon the land, who will take an interest in it 
and build it up, instead of wearing it out, is one of the most im¬ 
portant problems that the American people must confront. For 
this reason farm life must be made more attractive, and what will 
conduce to this end is first class highways. It is a fact that as an 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


215 


economic and sociological question Good Roads transcends every 
other consideration. Its influence and beneficence will in years 
to come permeate the entire fabric of civilization, uplifting, broad- 
ening, and ennobling the present and succeeding generations. As 
the Mound Builders were the highest expression of prehistoric 
man, so the Road Builder becomes the highest and best product of 
modern civilization. If cleanliness is next to godliness, then good 
road$ are a means of grace. 


216 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


THE USE OF BINDING MATERIAL IN BROKEN STONE 

ROADS. 

By William Campbell, Toronto. 

The stability of a road is largely dependent upon the bond— 
that is, upon the filler or bonding material between the stones— 
and, a necessary sequel, consolidation by rolling. In discussing 
this detail of road building, it must be understood that other mat¬ 
ters have been given due consideration, for a good road must 
have certain essential features: 

(a) The earth subsoil must be well drained, naturally or artifi¬ 
cially, so as to make a strong, unyielding foundation. The reason 
that common earth trails are good in summer is that they are dry. 
Kept dry by drainage during the wet seasons of the year, they are 
acted upon to the least possible degree of frost, and, so far as the 
foundation is concerned, will attain their maximum of efficiency. 
This is a matter of tile under-drainage. 

(b) Ordinary surface drainage must be provided by giving the 
road a proper camber, and by providing side gutters or drains, 
leading, with a constant fall, to free outlets. Surface drainage 
will do much for a road, but it will not do everything, and, unless 
the ground water is kept at a low point, as defined in the preceding 
paragraph, surface drainage will not prevent the road breaking 
up under heavy traffic during wet seasons of the year. 

(c) The wearing surface should be a smooth, hard, compact 
crust, which sheds water readily, and distributes the concentrated 
wheel load over a greater area of subsoil. The use of a bonding 
material is a detail, though an important one, in the forming of 
this surface crust. 

As a further practical summary of what is necessary in the form¬ 
ing of a road, we may say that the surface material of metal should 
be solidified into a compact and distinct crust, free from earth, sand, 
and other weak materials. The road should be well turnpiked, and 
given a camber, so as to shed water to the open drains. As a rule, 
roads when first built should have a camber that is too high; oth¬ 
erwise, they will soon become, through settlement, too flat. Ruts 
must not be allowed to form, as they prevent water flowing to the 
open drains. The open drains must have a sufficient fall and free 
outlets, that water will run off immediately—not soak away. Tile 
underdrains should be laid so as to lower the water line. This is 
effective in all classes of soil. Even in light sand, the roads are not 
cut up so much in wet weather. They remain compact, and there 
is less dust in a period of drought. 

Given these conditions, the best material to use as a binder is an 
important detail for consideration. A binding material serves sev¬ 
eral purposes. It unites the stones together, so that they form a 
solid crust, such as will distribute the weight of wheel loads and 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


217 


thereby prevents rutting. The binder fills the voids between the 
stones, and seals the surface against the entrance of rain and melt¬ 
ing snow, so that the soil immediately below the stone is not soft¬ 
ened by moisture. The binding material aids consolidation under 
a roller, a feature which is at times given too much consideration 
by road builders, with the result that inferior forms of binder are 
used. The binder used is closely associated with the dust prob¬ 
lem, a matter of great importance upon roads subjected to constant 
automobile traffic. 

A binder should be effective under all weather conditions of wet, 
drought, frost, slush, etc. The best type of binding material will 
cement the stone strongly together, will fill the voids between the 
stone perfectly, and will tend to a minimum of dust. In loose 
stones, the voids are about 48 per cent.; in dry rolled stone, the 
voids are reduced to about 40 per cent.; in wet rolled stone, to 
about 33 per cent. Under ideal conditions, which, of course, can¬ 
not be attained, the perfect binder should just fill the voids of wet 
rolled stone. More than this weakens the crust; less than this 
makes the road less waterproof. A good binder will cement and 
re-cement under pressure of traffic, when the bond has been broken. 

For a broken stone road, the standard material is stone screen¬ 
ings, consisting of the dust and chips produced by crushing. These 
are commonly spread over the surface of the broken stone road to 
give a smoother surface and to aid in packing. The screenings 
should be well washed down into the coarser stone by a sprinkling 
cart preceding a heavy roller. To harrow the screenings into the 
interstices of loose stone is also an effective means of filling the 
voids. To harrow the screenings into the stone, flush thoroughly 
by a sprinkling cart or hose; and then to solidify with a heavy 
roller is the recognized process of constructing standard Canadian 
roads. This process will bind the material firmly; the stones ob¬ 
taining a strong, mechanical clasp between themselves, the screen¬ 
ings acting largely as a cementing material to unite the stones into 
a waterproof covering. 

Clay is occasionally referred to as a binding material, but is 
a material to which we strongly object. It absorbs water with 
avidity, is soft and yielding when wet, and its smooth, almost 
greasy, character when in this condition, renders it a poor binder 
in wet weather. In dry weather the clay shrinks remarkably, and 
permits the stones to loosen, so that the road surface unravels. 
Breaking up in such a condition it is extremely dusty. Clay is thus 
not an effective bond in either dry or wet weather. It gives a tem¬ 
porary advantage when rolling. A coat or mixture of clay will 
hasten consolidation under a roller, but the advantage gained is 
at the cost of durability and service. It is an injury to the road. 
Let us not deceive ourselves. It is a device unworthy of the 
serious builder. 

Sand is by no means as useful a bonding material as stone screen¬ 
ings. The sand has not the cementing property that the screen¬ 
ings possess. Sand will aid the road to pack quickly when rolling, 


218 


MODERN ROAD BUILDING 


but in wet weather the weakness of the bond becomes apparent. 
Sand tends to hold the stones apart, rather than to unite strongly 
together. 

Gravel is largely used for roads of light traffic in parts of Can¬ 
ada, and that which packs quickly is very often imagined by road 
makers to be superior to gravel, which is cleaner, but which packs 
more slowly. This is always found a mistake, as gravel that packs 
quickly, as a rule, contains an excess of earth and sand; whereas, 
it is the stony material that is required on the road. Screened grav¬ 
el is a more durable material. A much more satisfactory roadbed 
is produced if stone screenings are obtained from a quarry, by rail 
or otherwise, to bond the material. 

The use of coal tar and asphaltic oils is a practice which has con¬ 
siderably extended of recent years, but is not one which has been 
generally applied to country road construction in Canada. Mac¬ 
adam roads, built with crude tar, of the .usual tarmacadam type,, 
have not as a rule proven a success. The use of refined tars, in 
which the volatile constituents are removed by distillation, is still 
in a stage which has not been fully tested by experience. Oils 
have been used merely to lay dust in a few cases, and not with uni¬ 
form success. 

Present standard Canadian practice still adheres to what is 
sometimes termed “water-bound” roads; that is, the use of stone 
screenings well flushed into the interstices of the loose stone, fol¬ 
lowed by consolidation under a heavy steam roller. The relative 
values of different rocks for road making depend largely upon the 
cementing properties of the dust—that produced in crushing, and 
that ground up by traffic on the roads. Limestone is largely used, 
and a softer stone with good cementing properties is sometimes 
found more durable and effective than a harder stone, which lacks 
the power to cement and re-cement under traffic. 

This is one detail in road building, in which future discovery 
may produce important results. A binding material more effective 
than stone screenings is greatly to be desired. A material that is 
durable, tough, elastic, dustless, that seals the surface of the road 
perfectly, that is unaffected by weather conditions, that combines 
all these qualities, and is cheap, is the one greatly to be desired ad¬ 
dition to the materials of roadmaking. 


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